LareDOS September 2014

Locally Owned

Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. — Hugo Black A JOURNAL OF THE BORDERLANDS SEPTEMBER 2014

Est. 1994

Vol. XIX No. 9 64 PAGES

@lareDOSnews

LareDOS Newspaper

Story on page 10

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publisher

María Eugenia Guerra meg@laredosnews.com Editorial Assistant

Mariela Rodriguez Staff Writers

Mariela Rodriguez Sales

Contributors

María Eugenia Guerra design@laredosnews.com

Emily Altgelt

Circulation, Billing &

Margarita Araiza

Henri Kahn

Nancy Black

Randy Koch

Raul Casso

Armando X. Lopez

Subscriptions meg@laredosnews.com

Steve Harmon

Bebe Fenstermaker Monica McGettrick Walters

Layout/design

Sissy Fenstermaker

Salo Otero

Sergio Puente

Neo Gutierrez

Elisa Ruiz

vantagegraphics@yahoo.com Fit2Print, LLC

www.laredosnews.com 1812 Houston Street Laredo, TX 78040 Tel: (956) 791-9950 • Fax: (956) 791-4737 Copyright © 2014 by LareDOS

Write a Letter to the Editor meg@laredosnews.com

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News

Environmental RGISC-Takers to be honored at organization’s 20-year gala

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t The Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC), the 20-year-old environmental non-profit, will recognize eight key individuals for their various contributions towards serving the well-being of the Rio Grande-Rio Bravo, the environment, and the Laredo community.

RGISC (pronounced “risk”) will honor them at its 20th anniversary Gala as “RGISC-Takers,” a title which charmingly and candidly reflects the daringness of their actions before and during RGISC’s 20-year history.

The 20th annual RGISC Gala will take place on Tuesday, October 21, at the IBC Annex at 6:30 pm. Individual

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tickets are $40, and tables are $600.

Please call the RGISC office at (956) 718-1063 for ticket purchases.

The honorees include architect Pliny Fisk III who conceptualized and constructed the Laredo Blueprint Demonstration Farm (once a dry land farming project between Texas and Israel) — an innovative, sustainable dry land farming operation on the LCC Ft. Mac campus; María Eugenia Guerra, who served as RGISC’s first Executive Director and successfully secured RGISC’s first major grant with the Meadows Foundation. As publisher of the news journal LareDOS, she has written and published numerous stories on the pressing, under-rec-

ognized environmental issues that impact the Río Grande and Laredo; Carlos Y. Benavides III, who worked alongside RGISC in passing the “Checkout Bag Reduction Ordinance — 2014-O-064,” an ordinance passed in Laredo in 2014 to benefit Laredo and prevent litter from plastic/paper bags. The ordinance will take effect on April 30, 2015; Attorney Lawrence Mann, a founding member of RGISC who wrote the organization’s charter; City engineer Tomás Rodriguez, who was instrumental in helping RGISC launch its monthly water quality testing of the river over the last 20 years; Christine Kolbe, who helped

write the water quality testing manual used by RGISC for the waters of the Rio Grande; Banker Renato Ramirez, who established RGISC’s first-ever golf tournament and supported RGISC through its financial turnaround; And the late veterinarian Dr. Adolfo Kahn, referred to as grandfather of RGISC. He served as a mentor to RGISC founders, Dr. Tom Vaughan and Dr. James Earhart, by taking them on local toxic tours.

The mission of RGISC is to preserve, protect, and foster respect for the Rio Grande-Rio Bravo, its watershed, environment, and cultures through education and advocacy.

— LareDOS Staff

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News

Willie Dickinson recalls spirit, camaredrie of 1955-1956 Championship team and coaches

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

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illie Dickinson was a senior and a center on the Martin High School Tigers Basketball Team that made history by winning the 19551956 Texas State AAAA Championship.

Undaunted by the above-average average heights of the teams they faced, the Tigers closed a District 4-AAAA UIL season of 27 wins and six losses with a semi-final district win on March 2, 1956 over the Houston Milby Bucs and a District win over the North Dallas Bulldogs on March 3, 1956.

Team members included Captain and guard Andy Santos, guard Ramiro Hernandez, forwards Leonard Anderson and Phillip Trammel, and center Dickinson. Hector Chacon was the sixth man on the bench, and reserves were Pitin Guajardo, Jimmy Rodriguz, Cruz Soto, Enrique Mejia, Agustin Molina, and Isidro García.

The final game in UT’s storied Gregory Gym was broadcast by radio and televised. Dickinson remembers the details of the game as though it was played yesterday — the incredible three-minutes-to-go rally of Tigers Andy Santos, Phillip Trammel, Hector Chacon, and Ramiro Hernandez. “In the last 20 seconds of the game Trammel scored a field goal, and Hernandez scored a free-throw in the last three seconds of the game,” he said. Dickinson himself added 9 points to the winning Tiger tally while sharp-shooter Hernandez added17, and Santos 6.

Dickinson recalled that throughout the 12 conference games, the Tigers were considered the underdogs. “But our fan base was amazing. They followed us everywhere.”

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Willie Dickinson, back row, center.

He credits Coach Bill Batey with finding the strengths of each Tiger team member. “It was out of the ordinary that we would win like we did.

He taught us how to play and how to win. He set up a practice game with a team from Indiana and another with the team at LAFB so we could get used to knocking each other around.”

Attorney and writer Armando X. López, who with his brother Steve, has conducted more than 50 hours of interviews with surviving team members for an upcoming documentary, called Dickinson “a poet warrior.” He said that at 6’4”, Dickinson was “shorter than the twin towers he faced in the state finals, but his tenacity and his attention to the court position and blocking fundamentals helped him outplay his taller competitors. He was extremely humble, but once the whistle blew, he was fierce under the basket.”

Dickinson said, “It took a couple of days to sink in that we had won the state championship. We were all so broke. There was no money to celebrate with, but the prestige of the win stayed

with us. We came right home with Coach Valls doing the driving. Around Encinal we started noticing cars waiting for us to escort us home. As we got to Laredo, people came out of stores to welcome us home. They started a parade and took the old parade route through town,” adding, “We got our state championship jackets near the end of the year. It still fits me.”

He recalled, “We were just kids. I was 17 years old, and Laredo was very isolated at the time,” Dickinson said.

Lopez said, “The team reacted to discriminatory practices in measured but forceful tones. They were young men who were fortunate enough to realize that in athletics, a scoreboard tells the tales of victory and vindication,” In 2013 Dickinson and the Championship Team were inducted into the National Hispanic Heritage Hall of Honor.

He said he found his love of basketball on the courts of the Boys Club on Moctezuma Street, and that when Coach Batey met him and his teammates, he intuited their cohesive chem-

istry and camaraderie. “We grew in stature under Coach Batey. He taught us discipline. He was a hardnosed basketball player. We learned through osmosis, as he told us, ‘Play like you practice. If you do this, you will accomplish your goals.’”

Dickinson speaks warmly of his teammates. “We were friends and have remained friends.”

Dickinson is the son of the late Gregorio L. and Maria G. Dickinson, one of five children. He began his college studies at Allen Military Academy in Bryan, Texas and later completed them at Pan American College in Edinburg.

Dickinson served as a United States Marine Corps reservist from 1961-1967.

He and Lillian Salinas married in 1962.

They have three sons — Richard William, Michael Edward, and Robert John. “I have taught them how important siblings are to one another, and I have taught them discipline, decency, and self respect.”

Dickinson has worked in banking and insurance, as a state bank examiner, and for U.S. Customs. 

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Santa María Journal

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For now, it’s — 30 —; good night and good luck

By María Eugenia guerra

t is with a measure of sadness and layers of many other emotions, including pride, that I inform you that this is the last hard copy of LareDOS that you will hold in your hands. This is not a sudden decision. It is one I have contemplated for more than two years, and more seriously now for the last six months.

Since 2008, I have not been able to sustain a business model to keep this freewheeling, independent publication in print, not an easy proposition for a truth-telling, equal opportunity offending journal that takes regular swipes at public figures and their friends and prospective and existing advertisers.

For too many years I have put myself at the end of the receiving line for a salary, have gone further into debt, and have foolishly used the money my parents left me to keep LareDOS alive.

But that I had a dollar and a deposit slip for every kudos, for every ‘you go, girl,’ for every ‘thanks for telling the truth,’ for every ‘let’s get together about advertising.’

Little newspapers have short lives, and every vacuous vanity magazine that has cropped up over the last decade has been a nail in our coffin. We now have vanity magazines posing as business journals.

There are no journalists on the Fortune 500 list. I only wanted enough to keep doing what I was doing, to keep the paper alive as a viable instrument for dialogue and for positive change in my hometown.

I can write, and I am good at selling ads — though not at the same time, and therein lies the conundrum.

It has been far more difficult to turn the page on this, the final chapter of this news journal, than it was to start it in December 1994 with my thenpartner Richard Geissler.

LareDOS began with an international rowboat crossing of the Rio Grande from San Ygnacio, Texas to San Ignacio, Tamps. where we’d been told we might find El Manana publisher Ninfa Cantu Deandar on a visit with her mother. Richard and I wanted a personal visit with the legendary Deandar to begin the dialogue for a business relationship. My neighbor, rancher Jorge Uribe, a cousin of Ninfa’s, accompanied us as we disembarked on the rocky banks of the river and hiked up into the quaint, old town.

We didn’t find her there; we found instead her dear mother in a lovely old sandstone home that was nearly 200 years old. She was packing in that humble house a large pile of Louis Vuitton luggage and awaiting a car that would take her back to Nuevo Laredo.

We would meet the Ninfa we needed later in Nuevo Laredo. Onward into the fog of everything we did not know about publishing a newspaper, we set up our offices in Richard’s stone covered building on the corner of 1620 Chihuahua, a place with high windows, wooden floors, and the darkroom in which Richard produced

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his eloquent black and white photographs.

I owned an old Mac IISI, monitor, and a quien sabe que Mac dot matrix printer, all yellowed the way old gray computer equipment turns. Sharon Cruz laid out our first issues, and then a fellow we met at El Mañana named Juan Moreno took that job. Juan and I took turns using the Mac, arranging our schedules accordingly. Juan became our “how it’s done” point man for everything we did not know about publishing — color, the presses, photo reproduction, negatives, photo resolution, and ad design.

In 1995, 1620 Chihuahua became a clearinghouse, a salon, for the huge influx of recently arrived TAMIU faculty members who had something to say and wanted to write about culture, language, music, politics, and movies.

We hung out, too, with Cynthia Earle, the LCC art instructor, and others who wanted to be part of the journal.

Margarita Araiza, now director of the Webb County Heritage Foundation, joined our motley gang, sitting back in her vast remote dignity to hear the steady banter of ideas that went into building a news journal. We did not

have a computer for Margarita. She wrote huge important stories on NAFTA, international trade, and water quality in longhand on yellow steno pads!

In time, people who were following us began to donate new equipment or money to the newspaper.

Our office door had a maña. The indoor knob might fall onto the floor and you’d have to fool with it to be able to get out of the building. From the next room I heard the door open and close and then the doorknob hitting the floor. I thought I’d heard an “Oh, dear” and walked to the door to greet Elizabeth Gill, whom I had never met, the doorknob in one hand and the latest issue of LareDOS in the other. As only she can enquire, she asked, “Who are you?” to which I answered, “Who are you?” We settled that and she asked when the next issue of the paper would be out. I told her I didn’t know because even though it was ready to go to press, we did not have the money to print. She asked, “Well, how much is that?” and in a matter of ten seconds she handed me the doorContinued on page 11

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knob and a check.

Such was the early life of LareDOS, the kindness of uncanny strangers participating in the early life of a little independent newspaper. Dr. Adolfo Kahn, a Republican who agreed very little with our liberal stance, but who supported our point of view on the environment, also helped us with computer equipment, as did Tammy Treviño, at the behest of her motherin-law and our dear friend Rose Treviño.

George Person, my friend and friend and legal advisor to my parents, worked some kind of magic in 1995 to suggest to two of his clients, upon the eve of their signing large oilfield leases, to make significant gifts to LareDOS — transactions that were never again mentioned, ever.

In 2006 when our cash flow looked stable, I asked Hank Sames if he would finance a used car to use for deliveries. He asked me to look at a new Honda and choose one from the lot. He said he had always wanted to help me. I drove off in a Honda Fit that got 34 miles to the gallon.

LareDOS has perhaps persisted like Theodore Rothke’s dying star, a low flame bright enough to cast light.

The kindness of bankers who did not collateralize their loans fanned that flame.

You would not think conservative bankers would be supportive of a liberal bleeding heart newspaper, but bankers like Ignacio Urrabazo and Mike South at Commerce Bank were kind to us on numerous occasions, as have been Lyssa Gonzalez and Douglas Macdonald at Texas Community Bank and Renato Ramirez at IBC Zapata.

Thanks to them and many others, who for whatever reason gave us breath, we made it through two decades.

With all my heart, I thank our advertisers, many of whom have been with us since we began. We thank our columnists and contributors, and of W W W.L A R ED OSN E WS.COM

course we thank our loyal readers and subscribers. The Fenstermaker sisters, Bebe and Sissy, have written since our earliest issues and sister Martha has always been there with a kind word.

Henri Kahn has advertised with us in every single issue as has Southern Distributing. I thank all of you who wrote for us and all of you who came on as advertisers for a month, half a year, half a decade, for the whole long run.

Because I have offended so many politicians in so many ways, I never enjoyed much advertising from Webb County or the City of Laredo, save that sent to me by Riazul Mia and John Porter of the City’s Environmental Services Department. Thank you.

I was 46 in 1994 when we started the paper, and fearless, even when some of the folks I offended at LISD with stories about extravagant travel and property acquisition and remodeling expenses sent out a piece of hate mail naming me “Lesbian of the Year” on a piece of paper bordered to resemble an esquela, an old-time funeral notice. It was mailed to all our advertisers, to elected officials, and to my parents. It was meant to maim and to silence me. We lost no advertisers. Some called to say they were disgusted by the piece of mail and that it had no bearing on our business relationship. One, the oldest bank in town, called for a lunch meeting to let me know they were with us for a full page ad every month. For that and many other kindnesses, Sharyn Jordan, then an LISD trustee, has my greatest respect.

My parents — those dear, good people who made me curious about the world and gave me the tools to become a writer — they read the esquela slowly, contemplatively, and my father, a wry, judicious man, said, “True, not true. You’re ours, and we love you.”

It was then that my mother stopped saying, “Mijita, you write so beautifully, why are your stories always about the bad things people do.”

As much as you might be thinking

how sad it is that LareDOS will cease to publish, please understand that the lifetime of the publication was a charmed one, one of great utility, one enjoyed by many. Besides meeting so many good, creative people and having the opportunity to work with them, there were many other highpoints in our life as a news journal.

One was being featured in May 2002 as a High Profile Alternative Thinker

by Brian Wooley in The Dallas Morning News, and another was meeting the legendary Mexican journalist Elena Poniatowska, meeting writers from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and coming to know Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project who prosecuted Mayor Raul Salinas for throwing LareDOS out of the Laredo International Airport in 2007.

And there are those whose writer’s sensibilities have guided me — Armando X. López, Wanda Garner Cash of the University of Texas School of Journalism, and investigative reporter John Maccormack of The San Antonio Express. Former LareDOS editor Tom Moore gets a Gold Star for doing a good job while putting up with me for so many years.

My two-decade romance with LareDOS is one of the longest and most fulfilling relationships I’ve ever had.

The return to our ranch in 1984, where I have lived most of the years I have published this newspaper, offered me a way to begin centering my writer’s heart as I learned to fashion hurt, rejection, and anger into creative energy. The ranch offered me a quiet haven to read and contemplate and recalibrate my life’s clock to the intricacies of the monte. It gave me a place to work with my father in an atmosphere that rested on so much love and respect.

What riches have come my way over these two decades, and here, now in my twilight, the best part — my granddaughters Emily and Amanda who share with me the gifts of love and laughter. Embarrassing would it be that they could tell you what I look like dancing and singing with them

when no one else is around.

Emily and I were talking about makeup a couple of months ago. I told her my only serious flirtation with makeup had been at gunpoint when I was presented as a reluctant debutante in 1966 at my other coming out party. She said, “Well who needs makeup when you have character?”

Those two little girls and wanting to be with them have certainly taken the edge off the mace and hatchet I once holstered, living proof that life’s circumstances, time, and age can soften you into a perfectly nice person.

I’m proud of the body of work I leave for posterity, a 20-year window of this city’s environmental, cultural, political, and commercial life; its scoundrels, the new ones and the recycled hacks like Frank Sciaraffa and Johnny Amaya; how the city changed and didn’t change at all as the patrón system migrated from a school district to Webb County to Seedy Hall and now back again to another school district.

I must tell you, this is not a sad time, and I feel not a measure of defeat. To have juggled so many plates in the air and to have broken so few now seems to me far beyond my capabilities.

I give my warmest thanks to this last roster of staff — Mariela Rodriguez, Elisa Ruiz, and Sergio Puente — who were so vital to these our last years. They are some of the most creative, resourceful individuals I know and admire.

As I move to a more quiet realm in which the phone will ring less frequently and I putter in the tranquility of my greenhouse, please wish me well that I might write something important.

It is possible LareDOS will have a life online at some point, but I can’t really contemplate that just yet — not until I close the cover of this good book and place it on the shelf with all my other beloved, worn-at-the-edges books.

Should that happen in the future, let’s find each other again.  LareDOS I SEP T EM B ER 2014 I

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Adios, LareDOS

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LareDOS, has been opportunity, generosity, wisdom, concern, and the brass tacks way in which these noble goals get expressed

by Texas.

LareDOS is the great achievement of Meg Guerra whose clarity of thought, compassion, and farsighted writing moves many mountains. She planted her goals in those first issues and brought them right through to this last one. Meg calls things as she sees them and her eyes are sharp.

Are you lucky, Laredo and South Texas, to have had LareDOS speaking to you? You bet you are.

We thank you, Meg, for the opportunity to write for LareDOS. It has been an honor.

With much love, Sissy and Bebe Fenstermaker

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

t occurs to us…good grief, it’s ‘occurred’ to us over and over since its beginning in 1994 that LareDOS, A Journal of the Borderlands, is opportunity, generosity, wisdom, concern, and the down to brass tacks way in which these noble goals get expressed.

LareDOS has given Laredo and all South Texas huge opportunities to see what is: the generosity of twenty years’ time in which to understand and to do right things; wisdom to think better thoughts; never ending concern for those who have little voice. LareDOS took the stand for the preservation of Texas, its history, its environment and gave voice to all who deeply care about doing right

Klassroom Kar Give-A-Way kickoff UISD board of trustees’ vice-president Juan Roberto Ramirez, Sames Kia representative Evelyn Sames, the Kia mascot, and UISD superintendent Roberto J. Santos kicked off the 2nd Annual Kia in the Klassroom Kar Give-A-Way Program

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Election 2014

Conde Jr. in race for Council seat 1

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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investors and be just as competitive as other cities in retaining big business,” he said.

If elected, Conde will address the lack of infrastructure in District I. “District I is nestled in a bottleneck. We have Zapata Highway, I-35, and Cuatro Vientos Road. The vast majority of the district is residential. There is not enough business out there to keep everyone employed, so most of us head out to other parts of town. You can’t get people in and out of the south fast enough,” said Conde.

The candidate has been block walking and speaking to residents of District I about issues they’d like to see addressed.

“Traffic safety is one. We have feeder roads in highly residential areas that go into Cuatro Vientos

road, with no stop signs or speed bumps. I’ve had constituents say ‘we have people coming here 50 or 60 miles an hour. Are they going to wait until someone is run over to do something about it.’ This city is very reactive, as opposed to proactive. That needs to change,” he said.

Lack of lighting is another concern Conde would like to address.

“My greatest asset is my work ethic, tenacity, and my will to do what is right. If elected, I think I would encounter resistance from ‘the old guard’ — those who have lived their entire lives in Laredo and remain in high posts,” he said, adding, “I want people to give me the opportunity to serve them to the best of my abilities and knowledge.

I am the future. I am what Laredo needs.” 

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

“I want something different for my city, something better. I love it so much, and I see the enormous potential that it has. I want to be the change my city needs,” said José Conde Jr. candidate for City Council District I in the upcoming November election.

Conde, who earned a BA in communication with a concentration in public relations and a minor in business administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio, said, “While in San Antonio I saw many things that I noticed were lacking back home. I saw a city with a lot of progress. I saw the love that people had for their city. I would constantly ask myself, why is this not happening in Laredo? Why was it that Laredo was growing at a fast rate, but nothing was changing? It’s because we have the same politicians and families governing the city. I came back to Laredo with one goal in mind; it was to make a difference, to make my city a better place.”

Conde has worked with the South Texas Development Council as a program coordinator.

“For programs funded by STDC — while assisting city, county, and other agencies to develop comprehensives plans to ensure there were no gaps in services provided,” he said.

He is currently employed at Time Warner Cable as a customer service representative.

“I have encountered a lot of people moving to other cities. I asked them why, and the most common response is it’s the city itself,” he said, adding, “Others say they are moving because they got jobs. Lar-

edo is exporting talent. There is a whole generation growing up that wants to be here. This is a great place to live, but we have to offer the same opportunities they’d have anywhere else.”

“When I returned I saw that while the city had grown, not much had changed in people’s attitude.”

Conde addressed the recent announcement that Halliburton and Schlumberger will be relocating to San Antonio.

“The oilfield industry is a big employer in our community. The reason there has been such an increase in home purchases is because of the oil fields. San Antonio is offering great incentives for companies to relocate. Other business brings the best out in current business. We need to make Laredo attractive to

Diez y Seis de Septiembre The Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications mariachi band marked the occasion with a performance at St. Peter’s Plaza on Tuesday, September 16.

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Election 2014

Attorney Balli seeks District VIII seat

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff “I decided to run for City Council because I want to give back to the community. I have received so much from this community, in so many ways, and I felt it was time for me to do something like this,” said District VIII candidate Roberto Balli.

A native Laredoan and a practicing attorney for the past 19 years, Balli earned a BA and a Masters in business administration from Texas A&M International University, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center.

He said he currently resides and runs his practice from home at 1719 Santa Maria.

“District VIII lacks the most in the entire community in terms of sidewalks, proper sewage, and lighting,” said Balli, adding, “Also there is a lack of parks of the same quality as others. While District VIII has many, they don’t have very nice amenities such as swimming pools — only splash parks.”

Addressing safety concerns is also a part of Balli’s campaign. “My family likes running, but the only area in the neighborhood we can run is the four corners, around Martin High School. It is a great place to run for a single adult, but when you have your kids with you, it’s not ideal with a busy street like San Bernardo right there.”

Balli pointed out that Shirley Field remains closed to the public while Krueger Field remains open in the North.

“There are two recreational centers with indoor running trails. We have a Boys and Girls Club for the kids, but we don’t have a city recreation centers. We need a good place for the whole family to enjoy,” he said.

The development of downtown and improvement of infrastructure are also on Balli’s agenda. “We need to look into

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Roberto Balli the use of Santa Isabella or the possibility of a river road that gets people in and out into I-35. Downtown is going to need an overpass on Santa Maria to relief the congestion on Jefferson, Park, and Sanchez,” he said.

“With the outlet mall coming soon, we need more roads. I consider this a priority to look at options that are going to get people in and out of this outlet mall, which will be very important to the development of downtown,” he said, adding, “You can’t draw business in until you have that infrastructure, but once you do, business draws more business.”

Balli foresees the outlet mall will bring one or two hotels and chain restaurants to the downtown area.

“Now we have something, for the first time in many years, to build on. The success of this outlet mall will really be important to the success of downtown,” he said, adding, “From the Republic of the Río Grande Museum to the Laredo Center for the Arts, these have the making of beautiful areas with the potential to attract tourists.”

If elected, Balli anticipates his biggest challenge will be showing the other council members how people in these neighborhoods are living and to show how there is an inequality in services.

“These are older neighborhoods that were developed in a different way many years ago. That is no one’s fault, but we have to upgrade. Residents of this district pay property taxes just like everyone else, and they need upgrades and improvements,” he said.

Balli’s ideas for improvement include improving sidewalks and overpasses for residents of La Ladrillera.

He said, “The corners of the district are also the corners of the city and a lot of people don’t get to see those. Neighborhoods like Ladrillera, La Azteca, and Canta Ranas — a lot of people don’t go over there, so they don’t see the obvious disparities in city services.”

Balli has experienced firsthand the inconvenience that so many residents experience.

“The other day I was in the Ladrillera

and the train was passing to block the railroad tracks. I opted to go through the LCC Bridge. Classes had just let out, so a seven block trip turned into a 30-minute drive,” Balli said, adding, “These residents need another overpass to provide relief from traffic and to improve the response time of emergency response teams.”

This candidate wants to implement a long-term plan to improve the District VIII neighborhoods.

“Because of the economic status of the residents, I feel that their voice is not heard. That’s one of the things I want to change. I want to be their voice on City Council, and make our neighborhoods visible to everyone.”

Balli is married to Claudia Balli and has two daughters, Isabella and Victoria. 

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Election 2014

Incumbent Hilario Cavazos wants re-election to LCC board of trustees Place 7

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

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ifetime educator Hilario Cavazos is seeking reelection to Place 7 of the Laredo Community College Board of Trustees. He will face challenger Ed Gonzalez in the November 4 election.

First elected in 2008, Cavazos said he is an advocate for public education and higher education, both of which he sees as a means to preserve democracy.

He said he wants to continue construction and technology improvements on both LCC campuses that afford students the best opportunities to learn and have meaningful careers.

“I stand on my record as a progressive thinker. I want to continue in my role as an advocate for technology, for libraries filled with flat screen computers, laptops, and cutting edge learning tools,” he said, adding, “I’d like to see some fine-tuning on the South Campus’ Zaffirini Library, which needs updating and more computer labs. It could become a vital reading and writing center that fosters better comprehension of information so that students understand what they are reading.”

Cavazos said he was a staunch proponent of LCC’s four-year degree in nursing. “I also pushed for the cybernet security degree which students can complete with three years of studies at LCC and one at Texas A&M-San Antonio. Those are the kinds of partnerships we need to continue to build.”

He said he supports the reconstruction and new construction on W W W.L A R ED OSN E WS.COM

both campuses. “Upgrading facilities built in the sixties on the Fort Mac campus is a vital part of making sure we are offering our students the best education possible. I’d like to see the modernization of Maravillo Gym and the expansion of boys soccer and girls softball,” Cavazos said, adding, “It’s time to revitalize the Palomino baseball team and to bring back the basketball program.

We need a better weights and training facility for girls.”

Cavazos stressed that athletics are every bit as important as the arts, academics, and continuing education. “This makes a well-rounded student who will be an asset to the community,” he said.

He said that the LCC police academy’s firing range needs to be brought up to federal standards.

“The nursing school and a new student center at LCC South are priorities for me. Nurses with a

two-year RN degree can come back to complete a four-year degree. A hands-on learning clinic at the South campus could benefit South Laredo with basic family medicine if we could staff it with an MD or a nurse practitioner,” Cavazos continued.

“I have a passion for education that has roots in 30 years of classroom experience. I have first hand knowledge of how students learn and what they need to be able to learn, I’m an advocate much more for state funding which has been slashed from 49 percent in 2000 to 20 percent today,” Cavazos said, noting that LCC enrollment of 6,000 at the Fort Mac campus and 2,000 in South Laredo could be “much better.”

He said that the vacuum in administrative leadership at LCC begs for intelligent, forward thinking trustees.

Cavazos said that administration’s withholding of the SACS accreditation probation information from the board was a pivotal moment. “It was clear on the board who was thinking ahead and who wanted to keep the news to a minimum, who wanted to deal with it and who wanted it to just go away,” he said.

According to Cavazos, “Having Nora Stewart in place as the CFO for LCC takes us to new possibilities for how money will be spent, transparency, and credibility. She’s a huge asset to the college and she will work with us to address the two weakest divisions — personnel and plant facilities. I think she will also work to put energy efficiency into any new construction and reconstruction.”

Cavazos said he is responsive, accessible, and proactive. “I return phone calls to students who have asked for help with scheduling problems, and I am responsive to parents who want to discuss the education of their children with me.”

Cavazos is a 1980 graduate of United High School and a 1986 graduate of Laredo State University.

He has been a public school teacher for 28 years. He has two daughters — Martha Alexandra Cavazos, 22, who is completing a Masters degree at Texas A&M-Canyon; and Melissa, 20, a student in the Incarnate Word Nursing Program for studies as a nurse practitioner.

Of his campaign, Cavazos said, “I’m proud to use the term ‘re-elect,’ rather than ‘keep’ in my reelection bid. “I speak up when I need to. I put the students and their taxpayer parents at the forefront of my decisions.”  LareDOS I SEP T EM B ER 2014 I

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Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Pennies for Tennies kicks off Ryan Elementary School cheerleaders were among performers at the Women City Club Pennies for Tennies Luncheon on Thursday, September 11. The event kicked off the campaign, which raises funds every year to provide shoes and eyeglasses to children in need.

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Election 2014

Tita Vela seeks LCC Place 9 board seat; wants to reverse enrollment plummet

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ita Vela, a recently retired 28-year veteran at Laredo Community College, is running for the college’s board of trustees against Place 9 incumbent and longtime trustee Carlos Carranco.

Vela retired in May 2013 as business management instructor and after having served the college in many capacities.

She said the 22 percent plummet in enrollment from the Fall of 2011 to the Spring of 2014 should be of great concern to the trustees and the administration. “It is projected to go to 25 percent by Spring 2015. What will happen if this continues? Have we lost our focus?”

Vela continued, “I am making a commitment to increase enrollment, to keeping tuition affordable and taxes down. Good instructors and staff — some who are making less than they were before because wages have stagnated and the cost of living has increased — are critical parts of the equation. Instructors and staff need to know we will take care of them and reward them for their good work.”

She said that LCC has much to offer the entire community and that it is one of Laredo’s “best kept secrets.”

Vela said that education is the key to meaningful lives. “As much as we need students pursuing higher education degrees, we also need to support programs that will provide a diverse workforce. The college has a longstanding commitment to train students for the best careers possible.

To help those going for a four-year degree, we need to work with TAMIU so that student transfers are seamless

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Tita Vela and so that a student’s time and resources are not wasted.”

She noted that continuing education classes should be a much larger component of what LCC offers the community in teaching and certifying food handlers, secretaries, plumbers, computer technicians, and others who do not want to pursue a four-year degree.

“We have excellent facilities and excellent instructors and staff at LCC. Student recruitment and retention used to be a top priority of the college, but the lower enrollment of students means that we need to provide more support and resources so that they can multiply their efforts. Our high schools are bursting with graduates.

We need to focus on how to get them here, to either campus,” she said, adding, “Once the students come to LCC, they need programs and instruction that will help them compete in a global economy. This means students need to write at a professional level, think through problems, and offer solutions.”

Vela said that if elected, “I’m committed to help our students compete.”

I believe I can bring more to the board because I am a clear-headed woman, an experienced educator, a taxpayer, and a parent. I understand many of the issues that our students face, because I was on their side for 28 years. As a proponent of education, I know it’s the only thing we can give our kids. I care, simply, I care,” she said.

“I came to LCC from private industry, and I know that an educated, trained workforce moves industry and commerce. Education changes lives,” she said.

Vela was a former accountant for Texas Parks and Wildlife and an auditor for the Texas General Land Office in Austin. She also worked for the

Tesoro Petrolum Corporation in San Antonio and Sanchez O’Brien Oil and Gas in Laredo.

The native Laredoan is a 1968 graduate of Ursuline Academy. She earned a BBA in marketing from St. Mary’s University and a Masters in occupational training and development from Corpus Christi State University.

She and Dr. Carlos Vela, a retired dentist and a rancher, have two daughters, Alejandra, a dental student at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry, and Vanessa Vela-Martinez, a child psychiatrist in Boerne.

For more information on the Tita Vela campaign or to contribute or volunteer, call (956) 724-6030. 

Courtesy Photo

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

At the ER South groundbreaking Other members of the Doctor Hospital team joining the groundbreaking ceremony for the ER South are Cristen J. Rojas, RN, Trauma Coordinator, Leo Garza, RN, Director of Critical Care Services, Daniel Cabrera, III, RN, CNO. and Marcus Dally, RN, Emergency Department Manager.

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Election 2014

Meet City Council District I candidate Luis Cisneros, a neophyte with a lot to say

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

I

t’s rare to hear a political candidate, especially a neophyte, say something that rings so heavily with the truth about politics in this city.

“Just once, I’d like to see a City Council vote that was five-to-three, four-tofour — something that told you they hadn’t all agreed ahead of time how to vote,” said City Council candidate Luis A. Cisneros at August’s Town Hall meeting at Caesar’s Palace.

Cisneros is running in a field of six candidates to fill the termed-out vacancy of District I Council member Mike Garza.

A lifetime Laredoan, Cisneros was raised in Los Amores with his parents and seven siblings. He raised his own family in South Laredo. The former migrant worker is a 1971 graduate of Martin High School who studied at LCC for two years. He was a caseworker for 20 years for the Texas Department of Human Services before becoming a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization officer in 2003.

“I see a huge need for change in how the City Council makes its decisions.

It’s pretty clear they know in advance how they will vote. They strongly support the City Manager. Power should not come from the top down. It should come from the Council members. The City Manager is an appointee,” he said, adding, “They trade their votes for the goodwill of the City Manager. No one dares to question his decisions. If they do, they get un-elected.”

Cisneros continued, “I understand that the Public Access station has been told not to hold the debates this election cycle. This is a form of censorship.

How else is the public supposed to get to know a candidate? Public access is an

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Luis Cisneros important tool for candidates getting their message out.”

Cisneros acknowledged, “Yes, I’m a political neophyte, but that’s a good thing. No one is propping me up. This is all grassroots communication. My message is consistently the same — that we need responsive government for the people, by the people, and not of the few.”

Cisneros said it is time to, “Take politics out of city employment. City employees feel unappreciated as to salaries and health insurance costs. They need to feel appreciated, especially those who have made a lifetime career out of city service.

We need to hire and promote on merit.”

He said the City’s drug and alcohol policy needs to be reviewed and revised.

“As it is written, it allows for too many outs. Testing needs to be more random rather than dependent on certain triggers to question the individual.”

He said he would like to see changes in city water rates that charge high end users more, and would also like to see the City extend more amenities to veterans and the elderly such as free passes or reduced fees to city-sponsored events.

“Running a political race in Laredo a real challenge. You have candidates

that round up people. The voter doesn’t really know what the candidate stands for. El voto del barrio is purchased.

Those voters are disenfranchised, used for the election cycle, and never thought of again,” Cisneros said, adding, “We should be voting conscience and core values and not being told how to vote.”

Cisnseros said that the silencing of public access and the cañonero effort to harvest votes for certain candidates will impact the November election outcomes.

We should all vote our conscience and hold our ground and tell the cañoneros, ‘No me voy a vender.’”

Cisneros continued, “The political culture in Laredo has to change. Elections should be decided by well informed voters and not those willing to

sell their votes for a plate of carne asada and a couple of beers. Shame on those people! Think about this; American men and women are fighting overseas right now in order to protect this great county of ours from those that want to do us harm. Others lost their lives and never came back to their loved ones, having spilled their blood in foreign lands so that we may continue to have the freedom and rights they fought for — one which is the right to vote.”

The candidate has been married to Gloria Cisneros, a physical therapist, for 33 years. They have three grown children — Luis A. Jr. IBC, Ismael, and Martha Elena.

Cisneros can be reached at lacisneros5@hotmail.com 

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Election 2014

LCC incumbent Carranco seeks reelection to Place 9

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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ith 24 years as an LCC trustee, Carlos Carranco Jr. is seeking reelection to the LCC board of trustees for Place 9.

He will face veteran educator and former LCC faculty member Tita C. Cantu.

“Laredoans know I am fiscally responsible. I care about the college family, the students, and about doing what is right for the taxpayers. I want to ensure the taxpayers’ money is being invested and spent responsibly,” he said.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Carranco began his education at Laredo Community College (then Laredo Junior College) before attending Texas A&M University.

“I have a global perspective of the college’s needs. My father went to school there, and had the college not been here my father would not be who he is,” he said, adding, “I have been a student at the college, not only 48 years ago, but also recently I’ve taken numerous courses in physical education, photography, and art appreciation. Sitting in the classroom, I’ve gotten student’s perspective as to what they want from their professors, and in turn what the professors need to provide the best education possible for students.”

Carranco began teaching at Santo Niño Elementary in 1971, until presented with the opportunity to become an operator for the Chickfil-a. In 2003, he returned to the classroom as a special education teacher at Macdonell Elementary.

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Carlos Carranco “I had been in the school system, and when I went into business, it was a total transformation for me.

I had to build my business because at the time people didn’t know what Chick-fil-a was. We were the sixth store in Texas when we opened it in Laredo. Those early years were hard going, but we found a way to do it,” he said.

He said he was compelled to render his service to the community and felt he had sufficient business acumen when he first ran for the LCC board of trustees to oversee with the other trustees the college’s growth dutifully and conscientiously.

Regarding the lack of raises for LCC professors, he said, “Teachers never have ever gotten the money they deserve. Unfortunately there is not an unlimited amount of money to pay them what they deserve. We have a finite amount of money coming in, and so in the ideal world it would be great to pay the professors more because they truly deserve it,

but we have to live with the money we take in. The students pay their tuition and taxpayers contribute their part, and so we have to work in that framework. It would be wonderful if we could pay not only the professors but also the dedicated clerks, janitors, and counselors who fulfill their duties. If we find the money to do it, we are going to do it.”

He said the college is like any other working institution. “We have problems disguised as opportunities. We are being proactive in dealing with these situations to make our institution better.”

Carranco’s expects that LCC will

continues to grow. “The college has the capability of being the primary educational institution in this county. I can see one or two more campuses serving the need of Laredo and continuing to be the vital educational instrument that it is,” he said, adding, “What the citizens of Laredo want is what the trustees of LCC will do.”

Asked why he is seeking reelection, Carranco said, “It’s the whole package, wanting to serve, my experience as a trustee, and my background as a businessman and as an educator. I bring a tempered view that works in unison with the rest of the board,” he said. 

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Opinion

Why vote for Johnny Amaya, when you can elect lifetime educator Hector Noyola to LISD District 3?

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ector Noyola’s selfless 43year commitment to the Laredo Boys and Girls Club set him far above and apart from the other candidate for LISD District 3, Johnny Amaya.

Despite the growth the non-profit has seen under Noyola’s four decades of leadership — three clubs that bring educational and recreational activities to the children of Laredo — he said he has goals yet to complete.

If you wish to contrast Noyola further with Amaya, consider Noyola’s four-year college degree, 11 years as a public school teacher, and a handson life credo of imparting to children sportsmanship, discipline, fairness, hard work, and the components of good citizenship.

Who better to sit on a school district board of trustees than an educated individual with a list of sterling accomplishments that have made the Boys and Girls Club a vibrant, accessible resource for the youth of Laredo, not only in the arena of sports, but also in educational skills that will further the lifetime goals of the child.

According to Noyola, each of the three clubs has a computer learning center staffed by certified teacher/tutors from the Sylvan Learning Centers. “The children can finish their homework there, work on projects, take tutoring, and play educational games that enhance their math and reading skills,” he said.

During his tenure, the clubs have implemented a free summer lunch program, and during the school year, Kids Café’s at all three campuses serve a hot meal to every club member.

We sponsor citywide leagues, over

Hector Noyola 100 volleyball teams, 100 flag football teams, and 500 basketball teams, Noyola said.

“It is a big satisfaction for me to watch a club member move through the educational system by graduating from high school, get a college degree, and then watch them come back to their community and to the Boys and Girls Club to give back what they got here,” Noyola said, recalling that he grew up 13 blocks from the original Moctezuma location of the club. “I walked here, learned to swim here, and played basketball here. The Club was a big part of my life as a boy, and it still is. My best memories were formed here.”

He said it has been proven nationwide that members of the Boys and Girls Club who took advantage of the club’s recreational and educational resources are more likely to graduate from high school and go on to become role models and mentors for young members.

Noyola is an 11-year veteran of public school teaching, first at Farias Elementary and then at Leyendecker Elementary. In 1972 he became part time director of the Boys and Girls Club and then assumed the directorship in 1978.

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Noyola’s three children — Ronnie, Claire, and Hector Jr. — are all former members of the Boys and Girls Club.

“All educators,” he said.

“I work with a very diverse, 25-member board of directors, and with that experience I know I will be a contributing member to the decisions of the Laredo ISD board of trustees. I want to make a difference. We have some good board members at LISD, and I want to be part of getting us to the next level that will help the district’s students, teachers, and employees reach their goals.”

Noyola said his management of a $1.4 million budget as director of the Boys and Girls Club makes him well prepared to sit on the LISD board. I’m bringing a measure of financial exper-

tise to the table. I manage 22 full time employees and 40 seasonal employees in three facilities that include classrooms, playgrounds, pool, gyms, and outdoor facilities.

“I will be an active member of the LISD board. I want to visit all the campuses to understand what each school needs. I am not a micromanager, but I do want to be informed. Each school is the backbone of our district. I want to be involved to the extent that they trust us with their ideas for how to make things smoother in the classroom,” Noyola said.

“I have no agenda other than to serve. Being an LISD board member for District 3 is not a stepping stone for me,” he said. 

Courtesy Photo

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

Anti-Circus Movement Laredoans gathered outside the Laredo Energy Arena on September 19 through September 22 to boycott the Shrine Circus. The movement is against the use of wild life animals for entertainment and hopes to get the city to prohibit the return of this circus and continue to raise awareness for this cause.

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Election 2014

Ramos in run for LCC Trustee Place 8

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By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

ackie L. Ramos is in the race for Laredo Community College Board of Trustees Place 8.

“I feel that my masters in public administration prepared me to be a public servant, to work in the capacity of the city, state, or county government. On a board, you work as part of a team that needs to agree on the well being of the students, faculty, and the staff. As a board member you need to consider the long term interests of the organization, and in this case it’s LCC,” said Ramos.

LCC is where Ramos began her education before completing a BA in English and political science from Texas A&M International University.

“It is an institution that should not be left in the hands of people who do not want to further it. I want to help preserve LCC’s

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Jackie Ramos fruitful history as well as ensure it is at the forefront of technology, visibility, and accessibility for students,” she said, adding, “If you don’t have outreach, you will lose a lot of students. LCC has several workforce classes and education classes and certificates that a lot of

the general public know nothing about.” She said visibility of programs and curriculum offered, and of the board members themselves is critical.

“A lot of constituents are unaware the board of trustees election is city wide. There is not enough information out there. The public does not know, and should know because we pay taxes,” she said.

Ramos said that the board is in need of versatility.

“The board needs trustees that have the well being of the employees, students, and staff in mind. You want someone that will protect the college’s long term interests,” she said.

Ramos said she that as trustee, she would like to work with the rest of the board to appropriately expedite the recent bond that was passed for fair tuition for students and pay raises for employees and staff.

“They haven’t received a raise in years,

only bonuses, despite the $52 million budget. Look closely at the items on the agenda and research them individually to understand what is going on. You can agree to disagree on a board, but I feel it is important to understand both sides,” said Ramos.

Ramos has taught at the high school, middle school, and elementary level and now works as a librarian for UISD. She has served on the board of the Literacy Volunteers of Laredo, Friends of the Library, and the Gateway Rotary Club.

She is married to Fernando Ramos and they have two children, Kristina and Jeffery Ramos.

“If given the opportunity to serve, I feel this would be a great place to make and effect change. People should know that I am the right candidate. I don’t run against anyone. I run for the position. I want to do things wholeheartedly. The outcome is not in winning. It is about the process,” she said. 

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The Arts

Adios, LareDOS

Awarding winning film Homebound to screen in Laredo

My life with Nana and goodbye, LareDOS

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aredo Theater Guild International (LTGI) is working with filmmaker Fanny Véliz to present a special screening of the award winning indie film Homebound on Thursday, October 2, at Cinemark Movies.

Homebound is the story of Latino business professional Richard Lynn Escamilla’s (Jeremiah Ocanas) return to his small hometown in Texas. Richard returns to aid his dying father Gilberto Escamilla (Enrique Castillo known for his roles in Blood in Blood Out and Weeds) who insists that he take over the family business.

LTGI producing artistic director Joe Arciniega said, “We are excited to help bring this wonderful film to Laredo, especially since it features Julia Vera, a Laredoan and a cherished member of our own theater family.”

Vera’s 20-year film and television career precedes her. In 2012, she returned to the local stage for LTGI’s production of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding / Bodas de Sangre.

Homebound has screened in El Paso, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, San Antonio, Fresno, New York, and Los Angeles. The screening is immediately followed by an audience question and answer session with Véliz

and one of the stars from the film.

“I’m committed to helping transform the image of Latinos in the media by telling stories that aren’t usually told,” says Veliz. “We are all used to seeing stories of immigration, gangs, and other stereotypes; this film shows another side of the American Latino. Homebound is an American story, a human story told with an American Latino cast.”

Véliz is dedicated to showcasing Latino talent by raising production funds to shoot the independent film through the increasingly popular Internet crowd funding method.

The screening was organized through TUGG.com, a crowdsourcing platform that gives people the ability to bring certain films to their local movie theaters. A minimum of 85 tickets must be sold in two weeks in advance to assure the screening.

“The goal is to show Hollywood that there is a hungry audience out there ready for a film like Homebound,” said Véliz, adding, “It is about empowering the community to empower filmmakers to tell the Latino stories Hollywood chooses to neglect.”

Tickets for the October 2 screening are $12 for general admission and are available for purchase at www.tugg.com/titles/homebound For information visit www.homeboundthemovie.com. 

Can’t find a hard copy?

Go to www.laredosnews.com

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D

uring the years of my wonderful childhood I’ve had a lifetime with LareDOS from the day I was born to the ten years I am today. Since then LareDOS has been a big part of me with my Nana’s hand to guide me through life.

Also my Nana has become my best friend over the years we’ve been together passing our comfort back and forth during tough times that we’ve been though together.

But there have also been times of joy like helping her in the greenhouse, at the Farmer’s Market, in the garden, and just the joy of being with my Nana who I love so much.

Goodbye, LareDOS 

Courtesy Photo

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

By EMILY ALTGELT LareDOS Staff

Oliveros campaign opening Candidate Eliza Flores-Oliveros is pictured with her husband Victor M. Oliveros Jr. and children Aliza, Trey, and Nicky at the announcement opening her campaign for UISD Trustee District 3. They are pictured at the Border Foundry Restaurant on August 7.

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Opinion

My father is but one of the 66,000 STFB clients

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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or 25 years the South Texas Food Bank (STFB) has fed local families in need, including my own.

Just out of college and working at a starter salary, I found that I could sustain my own small household but not that of my disabled father’s.

Assistance from the STFB proved to be a blessing because my father’s Social Security benefits were just not enough to see him through to the end of the month.

Last year I sponsored my father through the Adopt-A-Family program, so he could receive 30 pounds of supplemental food every month. It made a huge difference in the grim, demoralizing food insecurity he faced monthly and it brought me a measure of relief.

I was initially concerned that my father’s nutrition would suffer as a result of relying on donated items, but I was wrong. He continues to receive a mix of nutritious food products conducive to the recommended diet for diabetics. For Thanksgiving, he was so excited when he received a turkey and plenty of fresh vegetables.

Even before enrolling my father in Adopt-A-Family, I had gotten to know staff members of the STFB as I wrote about the organization, discovering for myself that every person who works there is truly dedicated to helping others.

They don’t turn away any one in need. If there are services they cannot provide, they steer you in the right direction.

In our community there are no greater instruments in the fight against hunger than Bethany House and the South Texas Food Bank. Both wear the face of compassion as they change lives and save families, giving with each kindness measures of human dignity and hope.

Through grants and incredible net-

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working efforts, it is the STFB that finds the food and masterminds the logistics of getting it where it needs to be — to Bethany House and local pantries and to the pantries of the eight-county region that service the indigent, the elderly, veterans, and children.

We here at LareDOS have watched with admiration how Salo Otero of the STFB has worked tirelessly to get out the 25-year story of the STFB — its origins and the scope of its work.

The STFB began as a part of the Laredo Regional Food Bank in 1989 and then split off with the help of HEB to become the Laredo Webb County Food Bank and later the STFB — the only certified member of Feeding America’s Food Bank Network in Laredo.

The STFB has 80 pantries in eight South Texas counties that distribute about 10 million pounds of food they receive.

“We are feeding more families, which is good, but the downside is that there has been a growth in demand as well. The fact is that we are not reaching all the people that need food — nor are we reaching all the kids that are going to bed hungry. We need to find other sources of food if we are to continue to feed the growing numbers of those that are hungry,” said STFB executive director Alfonso Casso.

While the demand for STFB food services increases, Casso said, food supply is often affected by weather, economic trends, the federal budget, and the cost of fuel.

Drought and federal budget cuts have greatly affected the STFB’s access to some commodities that have been readily available in the past. “The drought has really affected the surplus items available to food banks. Smaller harvests have meant smaller distributions,” he said, adding that donations from the community are also down.

Donations from local corporations

have taken up much of the slack, but you can say that one substituted for the other.

2010 was a banner year, but changes in the economy since then have affected us greatly,” he said.

The United Way recently awarded the STFB a grant that permitted the food bank to purchase 10 freezers to allow them to store more fresh produce at its pantries.

Casso said that the product mix for distribution has changed for the better. “We have been able to increase the amount of protein — mostly chicken and beef — compared to previous years.”

“Three years ago, we were helping about 25,000 families per month. Now, we have been averaging between 27,000 to 33,000 families each month. We see

the higher numbers in the summer when school is out and kids don’t have access to the school breakfast and lunch programs,” said Casso.

The STFB’s after-school program, Kid’s Cafés, provide many school children with their last meal of the day.

Casso said, “We are serving more warm meals to kids under the age of 17 than ever before. In the last three years we opened a Kid’s Café at the Northwest Boys and Girls Club in Laredo. We opened another in Eagle Pass. We originally opened one site in Carrizo, but due to the demand, we opened three other sites in the last two months — Big Wells, Asherton, and Catarina. In Zapata, we started with one site and expanded the program to San Ygnacio.” 

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News

News

AHEC announces 30th Annual Update in Medicine Conference

ARFFS fire station inaugurated at LIA

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he AHEC Board of Directors announces the 30th Annual Update in Medicine Conference, which is scheduled for Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25 at the University of Texas Health Science Center Laredo Regional Campus at 1937 E. Bustamante.

The one-of-a-kind medical forum brings experts in the field of medicine to share and present the most current information regarding the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and management of various health conditions endemic to the community.

Each year, the Area Health Education Center of the Mid Rio Grande Border Area, along with the WebbZapata-Jim Hogg County Medical Society, develops a program specifically designed to address the medical information needs of the Mid Rio Grande Border region.

This year’s program features distinguished keynote speakers including: Dr. Ralph A. DeFronzo, who will present on diabetes and adults “A Pathophysiologic Approach to the treatment of T2DM” He is a professor of medicine and Chief of Diabetes Division for the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. He has helped define the biomedical and molecular disturbances responsible for insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus. His expertise includes numerous research projects in the treatment, diagnosis and management of diabetes. His extensive research experience and knowledge has earned him numerous awards for his work in the area of diabetes.

And Dr. Robert Jimenez, who will present on mental health issues. He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is in private practice serving adolescent, adult and geriatric psychiatry patients. His research and work in the area of mental health has been highly recognized by the Texas Council of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Centers, Inc. as well as others.

This year’s program will also include other topics that will offer the most current health care information on cancer, hypertension, ethics, diabetes, women and men’s health issues, bariatric surgeries, influenza, headaches.

The Annual Update in Medicine Conference has been a collaborative effort between the Area Health Education Center of the Mid Rio Grande of Texas, Inc. and the Webb-ZapataJim Hogg County Medical Society.

Over the years, numerous health care providers have been linked to educational resources via this annual event, which offers information to help improve the quality of life for residents in the Mid Rio Grande Border region. Physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nutritionist, social workers and counselors will be able to obtain continuing education credits for attending the conference.

Medical and nursing students as well as the community are invited to attend.

For additional information about the Area Health Education Center and its menu of programs, visit www.mrgbahec.org or call (956) 7120037. 

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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ongressman Henry Cuellar joined City of Laredo, Laredo Fire Department, and Laredo International Airport (LIA) officials for the September 2 inauguration of the $4.5 million Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Station (ARFFS).

“Our station has the highest upgrades available in the United States. There isn’t another ARFFS of this caliber in Texas,” said LIA marketing manager Timothy Franciscus Timm of the 15,400 square foot facility that was funded by the City and a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The ARFF station is expected to significantly reduce the emergency response time in the event of an incident.

“We now have the best of the best in terms of computer systems. This technology will impact the communication between the airport and control tower in the event of an emergency. We are also in the process of other safety and security updates thanks to a grant from Congressman Cuellar’s office,” said Timm.

City Manager Carlos Villarreal said, “This was an extremely competitive grant application process, and we thank Congressman Cuellar and FAA for making it possible to bring this project to fruition.”

According to Timm, the addition of the ARFF station, located 300 feet south of the terminal apron, is a testament to the increase use of the Laredo International Airport.

“This airport has become one of the most important regional airports in South Texas. It is one of the most important airports in terms of cargo and passenger traffic. Over the last 10 years, the federal government has invested $100 million dollars to improvements that include extending runways and of course now this facility,” said Cuellar.

The FAA grant has also been used for the installation a Geogaphic Information System and other improvements to the airport’s infrastructure, all designed to facilitate commerce and increase the safety and comfort of passengers.

Cuellar added, “The ARFFS will be beneficial for our citizens and the approximately 200,000 passengers that utilize our airport each year.”

The station will house six Laredo firefighters in the facility which include two drive- through apparatus bays, one maintenance bay, hose drying station, a wash and decontamination room, storage room, six shared sleeping rooms, three bathrooms, a laundry room, and an exercise room.

Leyendecker Construction, Inc. built the facility for a total construction cost of $3,884,885. 

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Opinion

Ferguson, military surplus, and a well-regulated militia

By NANCY BLACK LareDOS Contributor

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he recent riots this summer in Ferguson, Missouri, were triggered by a policeman’s shooting of Michael Brown. A reasonable way to deal with this kind of civil unrest is to take proactive and preventative action and implement innovative programs aimed at correcting its underlying causes. Mistrust and fear still exists between some local police and minority youth like Brown and Trayvon Martin, killed in 2012 by a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer.

It is unfortunate, and shameful, that some local police department personnel still misunderstand and are overly suspicious of young black and Hispanic men five decades after the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Killing of unarmed young people like Martin and Brown will understandably provoke protests that may cause further injuries or deaths. Programs to rebuild greater trust and understanding between local police and minority groups is still necessary in 2014.

The police reaction to the tumult that followed Brown’s death this August brought to light a troubling recent development in local police enforcement and differed from earlier civil disturbances.

Through its 1033 program, the Department of Defense (DoD) provides surplus and/or unused M16 automatic rifles, armored personnel carriers, and other materiel to state and local civilian law enforcement for use in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism operations and to enforce officer safety. (But is it reasonable for the DoD to spend hundreds of billions annually if even some of its armament purchases are redundant or unnecessary and are given away?)

It is worthwhile to consider whether

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we want this militarization of local law enforcement, whether such use will create an escalating cycle of violence if military weaponry is placed in the hands of local law enforcement personnel who have not been thoroughly trained in its specialized use, and how the increased proliferation of guns in recent years has influenced the new use of these weapons. As the general public’s access to guns and military-type assault weapons becomes less restricted, the police could develop a reasonable fear of greater danger to the community and themselves.

And then because of the greater number of weapons and increased firepower in the hands of the public, police could respond with still stronger weapons and armored vehicles to counterbalance them.

A cartoon in the editorial section of the August 1, 1999 Baltimore Sun depicts a derby-hatted British man with umbrella seated on a park bench beside America’s “Uncle Sam.” Uncle Sam is reading newspapers with headlines like “Gunman Rampage,” “Many Dead,” “Another Tragedy,” and “After Tragedy.”

In the first panel, the Brit says: “I don’t understand you Yanks”; second, he continues: “All these guns and murderous rampages! Tsk!Tsk!”; third, he exclaims: “250 million guns owned by citizens!

Any civilized country wouldn’t tolerate it!”; fourth: he states: “It’s a plague of violence!” and then asks “How do you deal with it?”; fifth: both are silent as the Brit waits for an answer; sixth: the Brit says, “You’re avoiding the issue.”

Uncle Sam replies, “That’s how I deal with it.”

The cartoon’s statistics are outdated; Americans now own, not 250 million, but an estimated 300 million guns. The proliferation of firearms in the U.S. that Continued on page 48

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Adios, LareDOS

All in one, LareDOS was a book, a pulpit, a platform, and a forum

By RAUL CASSO LareDOS Contributor

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bout 20 years ago, I was undergoing a personal episode of religious fervor. I had “discovered” the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation.

I believed them to be God’s roadmap to the future in general and the Great Tribulation in particular. I set myself to studying those two books, along with the other 64 books of the Bible as a reference library. Arriving at an understanding I could tell about, I began to write it down.

It was about that time that I became aware of LareDOS which was then in its infancy. I remember reading its early editions. It always featured a wide variety of articles with a sorted array of topics. Moreover, its frank assessment and criticism of local government and its representatives I thought was bold.

Maybe Meg Guerra would dare print my writings.

I called Meg. “Meg, we must meet,” I proposed. “I am writing about the end of the world; I think I know when it’s going to happen!”

“Well, this is serious,” she responded as though with no surprise. “Come on over to the office and show me your writings.” Ever the exacting writer, Meg would insist always on clear and concise English.

I went over to the LareDOS workshop west of St. Peter’s Plaza. There I encountered piles of newspapers everywhere, desks cluttered with copy, and Meg behind a broad table top heaped with pencils, notepads, and a telephone.

Meg listened with interest to what I had to say, and how I believed to be onto something revelatory and needing to be told. She agreed. Thus began my twodecade writing career with LareDOS by way of a column that, however evolving

in subject matter, would be featured in LareDOS for the next 20 years.

In time, my views on the Bible reversed themselves. My writings became critical and skeptical of the Bible. Meg embraced my new outlook and writings. She sent a photographer over who took a picture of me standing by a brick wall which was to be used for the column. She then christened my section of LareDOS as, “El Rincon del Diablo.”

Although I thought the title to be provocative, I was taken aback by what she did next: she drew horns on my pictured head and printed it!

I called Meg. “Meg, ‘Rincon del Diablo’ is fine, but the horns…”

“Lighten up, Raul,” she responded laughingly. “It’s a cartoon.”

I did and it was.

For the next several years, then, there I was, in the devil’s corner with horns on my head. And, as the articles were critical studies in Biblical skepticism, some citizens were outraged. I received not a few remarks from strangers at the grocery store. One lady at the HEB cried out at me in a voice loud enough for other shoppers to hear that I was a blaspheming heretic with a reserved place in hell where I would slowly roast in flames forever. Her eyes burned with ferocity as she stressed the “forever” part of it.

Needless to say, I dropped the aguacate I had selected into my basket and hastily abandoned the fruits and vegetable section of the HEB. Matters only worsened, however.

Meg’s newspaper was a free publication surviving on revenues from advertising. A couple of advertisers, their religious sensitivities deeply offended by my writings and Meg’s willingness to print them, withdrew their advertising support with a resulting loss in income suffered by LareDOS. I called Meg. “Meg, this is going too far,” I con-

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fessed. “It’s one thing to run my articles where people can read them or not; but it’s another thing to lose money on it. It’s not fair to you and your project.”

“Freedom of the Press sometimes has a price far more expensive than the cost of a few ads,” Meg said in all seriousness. “Just keep writing.”

Meg was not one to kid around when it came to journalism. It wasn’t that Meg didn’t care about the money. LareDOS, after all, needed the support of its advertisers. Rather, it was because Meg cared so much about the struggle that the printed word must often undergo that she insisted that the fight continue with me in it as part of the LareDOS campaign.

Years passed. I kept writing and Meg kept on printing. Then I got this job. If it was just me, I would have continued writing in my devil’s corner. But I thought of my new client, the City of Laredo. I wanted nothing to detract from my representing Laredo on a professional basis.

I called Meg. I stopped writing.

Years passed. My interest in metaphysics returned after a long absence.

With renewed vigor I began to write what can’t be written about, namely, the unknown.

I called Meg. “Meg, I’m back at it,” I announced.

“I’m writing about what can’t be written about. Nobody will read it, and those who do will be bored to death or won’t understand it but I promise the internal logic is sound.”

“Bring it on,” Meg responded without any hesitation. “We have a few Mensa members in town. Let’s see what they have to say about it — no son mensos.”

Thus began my “Philosophy To Go” column which I enjoyed writing and Meg printed up to what is now the end of LareDOS. To my knowledge, no Mensa member ever said anything, and

that’s if they read any of the articles.

Instead of being nicknamed, “Journal of the Borderlands,” LareDOS might enjoy the sobriquet of, “Journey of the Borderlands.” No other print organ in our region can even come close to replacing it.

As of February 12, 2014, the U.S. is ranked 46th in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. This is a measure of freedom available to the press, encompassing areas such as government censorship. There was a fall from 20th in 2010 to 42nd in 2012, which was attributed to arrests of journalists covering the Occupy Movement. I think Finland is ranked No.1.

Meg is a veteran of censorship battles. She understands that an enslaved press presents citizens with a double fatality. On the one hand, a censored print media loses the true light; on the other, it sets up a false one that decoys us to our destruction. Someone once said that what gunpowder did for war, the printing-press has done for the mind.

And it’s true. It has been our good fortune to have had LareDOS available to our community for the last two decades.

With Meg’s Journal of the Borderlands, local politicians were no longer shielded by the steel of high office. Instead, by the power of the printed word, every reading person could become their judge.

This is the true heritage of LareDOS. The closing of LareDOS results in a forfeiture for our community. LareDOS has been an educator for us. All in one, LareDOS was a book, a pulpit, a platform, and a forum. The discontinuation of LareDOS is a deprivation for us all.

I thank Meg for her selfless, two-decade enterprise in bringing this publication to our community. Knowing many people, I know it was impossible for Meg to run her newspaper impersonally; yet, she conducted it in an impersonal way.

Farewell, Meg, and congratulations. 

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News

Design-a-transit art contest kicks off

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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l Metro and Hachar Media Advertising announced the first annual Design a Transit Wrap Scholarship Art Contest on September 4 at City Hall. “Be Smart, Ride El Metro” is the theme, and the artists must illustrate the benefits of public transportation.

The contest is open to all local high school seniors, currently enrolled in school and who will be attending a college or a university in Fall 2015. The winners will have their artwork featured on one of El Metro buses for one year.

El Metro general manager Claudia San Miguel said, “The art scholarshipcontest is part of El Metro’s ongoing efforts to promote the benefits of public transportation amongst Laredo’s new

generations while encouraging local artists to illustrate their talent.”

A panel of transit and city staff members, city officials, and Laredo Independent School District, United Independent School District, Texas A&M International University, and Laredo Community College fine arts directors will judge entries.

Hachar Media Advertising will award two $1,000 scholarships per school districts. The deadline for submissions is October 1.

Contest entry forms may be picked up with high school art teachers, at the El Metro Administration Office, located on the third floor at 1301 Farragut, or online at www.elmetrotransit.com.

For contest information contact El Metro public relations and marketing coordinator Sandy Esparza at (956) 7952280 or email sesparza@ci.laredo.tx.us 

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Feature

Mary Help Lady Stallions edge out Mexico’s Irlandes in Volleyball Tournament

By DR. ALLAN RECTO LareDOS Contributor

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crucial championship match. They could see the strength of the Irlandes seventh graders, who had recently defeated the MHCS Lady Stallions team in a friendly match a few days earlier on the Mary Help home court.

The Irlandes seventh grade team, beaming with confidence, showed their superior skills and toughness by taking the first set, scoring with ease and leading the contest at 25-20.

Beaten and unbowed, the MHCS Lady Stallions tried their finest — trailing behind, but showing more passion, poise and determination. They won the second set, although the scores were closer at 25-22. The third set showcased the skills and character of the MHCS seventh graders who performed their best

and believed in themselves. Although they struggled with few errors, their teamwork ended in a well-deserved win.

Some degree of luck was on their side when the Irlandes players found difficulty in breaking the serves of both MHCS team captains Medina and Arzuaga. The final score was 15-13 in the third set.

After the referee blew the final whistle, declaring the winning point to Mary Help of Christians, celebratory chaos ensued, with the MHCS Sisters, parents, and students jumping for joy for having won their historic first official middle school volleyball tournament in 2014.

The second place trophy went to Irlandes, a tribute to the Nuevo Laredo team’s cheerfulness and great sportsmanship. 

Dr. Allan Recto/LareDOS Contributor

n the cool, rainy Saturday morning of September 13, the St. Augustine Middle School Volleyball Tournament 7th Grade Division started promptly at 8 a.m. in the main gym. Tough competitors from different local middle schools (Lamar, St. Augustine, Christen, Cigarroa and Mary Help of Christians), including respectable opponents from Eagle Pass Jr. High and Irlandes, a private school in Nuevo Laredo, Tamps., Mexico comprised the field of competitors in this valuable volleyball tournament.

Mary Help of Christians School 7th Grade Volleyball Team would garner the Championship Trophy after a nerve-wracking, heart-pounding game, beating the well-trained Irlandes team, fresh from their undefeated wins against Christen and Eagle Pass middle schools.

The MHCS Lady Stallions started out strong with a win against Lamar Middle School in two sets during the opening match of the day. They advanced to the semi-finals with another win versus the Memorial Middle School team who had just defeated St. Augustine in a prior game.

The Mary Help Lady Stallions knew they had a huge chance at an upset, but after watching the Irlandes seventh graders beat the Eagle Pass Jr. High team, they knew they were in for a very tough fight.

Before the start of the final match, MHCS Lady Stallions Coach Mendez, encouraged the kids to play their best and to believe in themselves. “We can beat them,” she said, “Girls, we got this!”

The Lady Stallions team dug deep mentally, physically, and spiritually. An anxious MHCS parent asked, “We’re going to win tonight, right?” The MHCS parents were unsure of the outcome in this

Members of the Mary Help of Christians School (MHCS) 7th Grade Championship Volleyball Team are pictured with their First Place trophy and Sister Alaina, Sister Robles, MHCS Principal Sister Cecilia, athletic director Sister Bernadette assistant coach Claudia Saldaña, and head coach Beatriz “Bo” Mendez. Team members include #3 Andrea Saldana, #7 Regina Medina (co-captain), #11 Daniela Morales, #10 Lauren Recto, #12 Romina Vidales, #8 Ivanna Chemas, #18 Alex Vidales, #9 Lauren Arzuaga (captain), #17 Brianna Lindberg, #4 Mia Martinez, and #16 Isabela García. Not pictured is #1 Andrea Salinas.

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News

Doctor’s Hospital unveils open heart program

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heart surgery program will treat patients in the newly designed, advanced cardiac surgical suite dedicated to open heart procedures. With an investment of $2.7 million, experienced surgical nurses and OR techs, specialized ICU nurses, and an in-house cardiac rehab program team, Doctors Hospital of Laredo’s Open Heart program ensures that the future of heart care is here.

“It has been several months in the making and we are excited to offer this service, as we strive to meet the medical needs of our community and surrounding counties. We could not do this without the support of our corporate and regional leaders from Universal Health Services,” stated Rene Lopez, CEO. “From diagnostic and interventional procedures, our program offers coronary angioplasty, stents and pacemakers and modern catheterization labs. Today – this program is complete with the new addition of the Open Heart Surgery suite.” 

Courtesy Photo

octors Hospital of Laredo’s new Open Heart program was unveiled during an evening event that included a ribbon cutting, a tour of the modern surgical suite, as well as a reception in the cafeteria. Local dignitaries, officials, and members of the community had the opportunity to meet program staff and get informed on the new open heart surgery program.

DHL CEO Rene Lopez was joined on stage by Marvin Pember, UHS Senior Vice President and President of Acute Care Division, Doug Matney, Regional Vice President of UHS Acute Care Division, Dr. Ralph Nimchan, Cardiologist and DHL Chief of Staff, Drs. Joaquin, Ricardo, and Carlos Cigarroa, Mayor Raul Salinas, Rep. Tracy O. King and Rep. Richard Peña Raymond.

The Heart and Vascular Center at Doctors Hospital of Laredo offers an advanced cardiac program with comprehensive cardiac services. The open

Rene Lopez, CEO of Doctors Hospital, Dr. Ralph Nimchan, Cardiologist and Chief of Staff, and Dr. Joaquin Cigarroa, Internist, officially participate in the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony unveiling the Open Heart Surgery Program. They were joined by city, state, regional, and corporate leaders. Guests were invited to tour the new advanced surgical suite followed by a reception.

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Election 2014

Porras seeks second term for LCC trustee Place 8

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

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CC’s former director of counseling and former dean of enrollment management Jesse Porras is seeking another four-year term as LCC trustee for Place 8. He will face challengers José Felix Gamez, Justin Allen Hundsnurscher, and Jackie L. Ramos.

“For 30 years, LCC was my professional home. Those years were meaningful to me and have made me want to serve as a trustee. My commitment to the school comes from a sense of belonging. My goal then, as now, has been to positively affect student success,” Porras said.

“I make my decisions based on data, and I do my homework.” the trustee said, affirming that politics should have no role in the spending of public money for the education of school children. I’m not a politician. I’ll do what I need to do based on our mission and our philosophy.

That should be the foundation of all our decisions as trustees. We have institutional goals for effectiveness,” he continued.

Porras noted that enrollment at LCC has dropped consistently since the Fall of 2010 when it was at 10,029 students. “We once had a very effective recruitment effort through a summer program working with the counselors of LISD and UISD. They became adjunct counselors for LCC. They taught us and learned what we do to better inform potential students of our curriculum. Recruitment has now been moved back to LCC student services where it belongs,” Porras said.

He recalled that one of his saddest moments as an LCC trustee was the

day he heard that the college’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools had gone to probationary status in 2013.

“According to administration, LCC had failed to submit the information correctly. That could have been a very dark moment in the school’s history, but the good people of LCC, the folks in the trenches, pulled us out of there,” Porras said.

He said that other than plummeting enrollment, he wants the trustees to study the school’s budgetary constraints and morale across the two campuses. “The new buildings are beautiful and good, but it’s the people who work in them that matter,” he said.

Porras’ published platform calls for turning LCC into an institution of excellence and ensured student success by providing the highest possible quality of education and an exemplary level of service to students and the community. He said providing a curriculum that is available, accessible, affordable, and a great value to students is also a priority.

He said he would like to see the establishment of an effective leadership philosophy that creates a positive work environment that embraces transparency, empowerment, and shared governance. He said such a policy would incorporate communication, collaboration, coordination, and consistency; and would also value the roles and responsibilities of staff at all levels with an appreciation of staff’s talents, abilities, knowledge, skills, and training.

Porras said the board should require high expectations of the LCC president’s leadership abilities and that the performance of those abilities should be evaluated via established

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measurable performance standards and goals; monitored performance throughout the year; and an annual evaluation to determine attainment of prescribed goals.

The trustee delineated the three major responsibilities of an LCC trustee — in addition to fiduciary responsibility for budget input and approval, tax increment decisions, and tuition and fee increment decisions

— as approving all policies that are the rules to operate LCC and the hiring, evaluation, and retention/firing of the president of the college.

Porras, a Zapata native, is a 1965 graduate of Martin High School and a 1970 graduate of Southwest Texas State College with a degree in sociology and a minor in psychology. He earned a Masters in social work in 1975. 

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The Mystery Customer

BY THE mystery Customer

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ing you that your vehicle requires about $800 more in repairs. You will still be put on hold interminably when you call a big box store thinking a live human being might have an answer to your query.

But now and again you’ll be surprised by someone’s kindness, someone going just a step further than the perfunctory service required of them. Those are rare, golden moments in customer service.

Johnny Carnio’s 7603 San Dario MC enjoyed the Pronto Pasta Lunch Entrée special, which included a crisp Caesar salad and spicy shrimp chicken pasta. The pasta was cooked to perfection. For the exception of a seemingly unhappy host who seated MC, the rest of the staff was friendly and worked diligently to provide great service.

BBQ Park 416 Shiloh This Korean restaurant is the first of its kind in Laredo. It was MC’s first time trying Korean food. The staff is very friendly and helpful especially if it is your first time at this establishment.

The ambiance is conducive for intimate or large gatherings. The MC highly recommends this eatery if you are feeling adventurous.

Subway 5112 McPherson Speedy service is what the MC experience on a Saturday afternoon. The MC’s only complaint was the not so fresh veggies that day.

Lowe’s 6623 San Dario How many Lowe’s employees does

it take to order a $399 AC window unit from a Lowe’s in Aransas Pass? Nine if you count the really helpful Julio who located it and told the MC by phone how to get it to Laredo. When the MC went to the customer service counter at Lowe’s she spoke to eight different employees, two who knew nothing and passed the buck: a guy from gardening (seasonal) who waters plants: two managerial types (one who called seasonal and one who actually logged on, called the Aransas Pass store, and was surprised as hell that the MC knew what she was talking about: another manager who had actually had merchandise moved from one store to another; another manager who cleared up her snags on the computer; and then the cashier who took the MC’s money. 

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

n the many, many (too many) years that we have hammered on customer service in Laredo, I’ve come to no hard conclusions.

Good customer service hangs on whether the employee likes his/her job and does it well; and the example and lead provided by the owner of the establishment. It hangs, too, on the customer’s attitudes and expectations.

In the course of a day you can run into a full spectrum of the good, the bad, and the ugly in service. You’ll still find yourself face-to-face with a gum smacker or a clerk having a private cell phone moment far more important than the transaction you’d like to conduct that pays part of her salary. You will still find that the simple $40 buck oil change you wanted comes with a call back appris-

The MC looks at customer service in Laredo

Local lawyers participate in ice bucket challenge Baldemar García Jr. and Joe Maldonado Jr. of Person, Whitworth, Borchers, and Morales, LLP took the ALS ice bucket challenge on Friday, August 29. The challenge went viral late August and has raised millions for the ALS Association for the fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease.

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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.

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atin music superstars Los Tigres del Norte were immortalized with the 2,527th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last month, in the recording artists category. Their star is on Hollywood Blvd.

Found on the sidewalks along Hollywood Blvd. and Vine Street, the Walk of Fame serves as an entertainment hall of fame for achievement in theater, the movies, radio, recording, and TV. A much-sought accolade, the Walk of Fame is as important as an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, or a Golden Globe. Since 1958, the sidewalk along Hollywood Blvd. has been embedded with five-pointed stars that feature the names of not only human celebrities, but also fictional characters honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

The first star bears the name of Joanne Woodward, wife of actor Paul Newman, and the latest has the name of Los Tigres del Norte.

According to The LA Daily News, Los Tigres del Norte, a band made up

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Notes from La La Land

Los Tigres del Norte immortalized with Hollywood Blvd. Star of four brothers and a cousin, came to the USA from Mexico when very young. Their star on the Walk of Fame is the first for a norteño band. Jorge, Hernan, Eduardo, and Luis Hernandez and cousin Oscar Lara spoke at the noon ceremony on Hollywood Blvd.

Los Tigres have sold more than 37 million albums worldwide, with 22 No. 1 albums and more than 50 No. 1 singles. The group has won six Grammys and six Latin Grammys, and they received the Latin Recording Academy›s Lifetime Achievement Award. Nine days after the ceremony the band held a concert at Anaheim›s Honda Center near Disneyland.

Led by then 14-year-old Jorge, the Hernandez brothers left their hometown of Mocorito in the Mexican state of Sinaloa in 1968 and came to California in hopes of providing help to support their family.

In the early 1970s, the band performed live on the radio in San José, and they were heard by Art Walker, owner of Fama Records, a label which became the leading Spanish-language

record label on the West Coast. Los Tigres were the first artists signed for the label. Walker got the group to drop its traditional acoustic sound in favor of more of an electric sound with full set of instruments — drum set, electric guitar, and bass — before recording their first album. The band went on to modernize their music, exploring the elements of boleros, cumbias, rock, and waltzes.

The group established itself as a leading voice for the struggles of immigration and social consciousness, never allowing the musicians to be photographed with weapons or using offensive language or glorifying drug themes in their music.

In other showbiz news. last month’s 66th Primetime Emmy Awards were presented in Los Angeles. Laredo-born Pembrooke Andrews, son of Julia Vera, was nominated for an Emmy, but he didn›t win. But just being nominated is an honor, indeed.

Pembrooke has worked on the sound editing crew of all the seasons of the TV series "24," and he has already won three Emmys for sound ed-

iting for this show. At the Emmys last month he was nominated for his work on the mini-series "Bonnie and Clyde."

Altogether, Pembrooke has been nominated for an Emmy 10 times!

Pembrooke was born in Laredo, and he grew up in Los Angeles, where he has worked for the TV/film industry as a supervising sound editor. He currently oversees the design, editing, and mixing of the TV show "The Goldbergs," "House of Lies," and most recently "24." He started working in the industry in 1996 as a runner and worked his way up to assistant sound editor, then to dialogue editor, and finally to sound supervisor, which is the highest position in sound editing.

He has the privilege of supervising the recording sessions of any additional dialogue needed for the show, which simply means bringing the actor in and having him stand in front of a microphone and deliver the lines that he needed to add to the show. Then Pembrooke takes the actor's audio and cuts it into the show. What an artist!

And on that note it’s time for--as Norma Adamo says: TAN TAN! 

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Adios, LareDOS

Meg Guerra found a way to define herself on her own terms

By ARMANDO X. LÓPEZ LareDOS Contributor

M

eg Guerra always does her homework.

My brother Goyo and I were impressed with her selection of El Pozo as the site for her interview with us before we launched our first issue of The Laredo Sports Journal (LSJ) in 1997. The famous local watering hole created the perfect ambiance to talk about our influences, our backgrounds and our hopes for the sports publication that she so graciously included in her LareDOS issue that August of 1997.

We told her about our vision and the experiences that shaped our views on athletics on the border. Meg had already spoken to our parents Gregorio and Consuelo, and amid laughter she confronted us with true tales that we had to sheepishly fess up to.

Goyo, my sister-in-law Blasita, and I knew what we wanted to achieve with the LSJ. We strived to emulate LareDOS, a publication that was literate, accurate, and written with love and passion.

After four wonderful years, The LSJ folded. What each of us realized and appreciated was the intense sacrifice that it took to keep a publication alive and true to its mission. And now almost 15 years after we closed shop, we salute Meg and her staff as they close the doors on this monument to border journalism.

Laredo will never see a publication like LareDOS again because no Laredo publication will ever find the dynamo that is María Eugenia Guerra. From her powerful mind and generous soul came diverse insights into our region’s horrendous poverty and the insatiable romance of public officials with secret deals and actions shaded from public view.

“A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favour. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.”

— Nelson Mandela

Other writers will tackle these issues with indignation and passion, but none will ever weave these tales with the colorful cultural images, barrio lingo, and classic literature that resonated with LareDOS readers.

And for every deserving swat to the powers that be, there were also reflections on the rich patina of life on a South Texas ranch, where torrential rains, blooming sage, and glorious sunsets were celebrated with awe and respect.

Meg is blessed with not only the perception to capture a tale, but with the ability to find words and meld metaphors that affirmed every Laredoan’s training in English, Spanish, and that wondrous mix of both languages that sets Laredo apart from any place in the United States.

To read Meg’s poetic prose was an adventurous affirmation of lessons taught to us by wise bilingual mentors.

I count myself as one of the fortunate to share a friendship with Meg. Those who only know her through her publication should be able to glean from her musings on family, work, and love of the underdog, that she is a fierce and compassionate defender of those bullied by the powerful.

I, however, benefited from hours of

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stimulating discussion and reasoned argument. I am blessed to have read short stories and other writing which someday her darling granddaughters will read with astonishment and appreciation. They will see that she always wrote from a perspective of love and with a sense of justice.



Continued FROM page 33

so puzzled and dismayed the Brit may be partially due to a distortion of the Second Amendment’s meaning and purpose.

In United States v. Miller, a 1939 Supreme Court case involving the 1934 National Firearms Act, Justice McReynolds explored the 18th century historical context of the drafting of that Amendment. Its first clause, “a well-regulated militia…”, is often ignored by antiregulation proponents, and emphasis is placed instead on the clause that follows: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms …”. The justice explained the Amendment’s purpose by stating that before independence, early colonists had suffered a great deal under the British army’s occupation. Because they understood this, the founding fathers did not want the new republic

Perhaps her greatest gift to me was an encouragement to follow the writing muse that evokes my diverse love of sports, history, the law, and poetry. It is because of her encouragement that I continue to write, if only for myself.

I am happy for her. I know that LareDOS has been a labor of love that at times has exhausted her and has taken her from the other pursuits that fulfill her. I know she is ready to move, content with her efforts and cognizant of the everlasting niche that LareDOS filled when others could not muster the courage to stand for those without a voice.

This dynamo with resolve and dedication found a way to embody all of Mandela’s ideals of a free press. More importantly, she found a way to define herself on her own terms.

I am proud to call her my friend.

Write on. Live well.  to establish a national standing army.

Instead, each state would provide its own defense through “a well-regulated militia.” To that end, the new states passed laws requiring able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 50 to equip themselves with specific muskets and ammunition for ready service, if needed. According to the Supreme Court, the Second Amendment was intended to mean only that the national government must not interfere with state militiamen’s service by forbidding them to keep muskets and ammunition at the ready. In To End the Gun Terror, End the Second Amendment Hoax, reproduced in the July 4, 1993 Baltimore Sun, Wallace Carroll wrote: “Assault weapons are designed to be man-killers, and they have increasingly become cop-killers and kid-killers. There is no place for them in a civilized society.”

Just what the Brit told Uncle Sam. 

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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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he STFB joins the more than 200 Feeding America food banks across the nation to celebrate September as Hunger Action Month. STFB employees and advocates are wearing a colorful, bright orange shirt during the month.

STFB executive director Alfonso Casso Jr. appeared at the Sept. 2 Laredo City Council meeting announcing the September event. With him were staff members Mike Kazen, Jorge Ornelas, Janie López, and Salo Otero.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the STFB opened in 1989 under the auspices of H-E-B as the Laredo Webb-County Food Bank, distributing supplemental food to the unemployed, under-employed, and those living on fixed incomes, especially the elderly.

South Texas Food Bank

STFB, Feeding America celebrate ‘Hunger Action Month’ The STFB, also a member of Feeding Texas (formerly Texas Food Bank Network), now serves an eight-county area from Del Rio (Val Verde County) to Rio Grande City (Starr County), helping an average of27,000 families, 7,000 elderly and 500 veterans and their widows per month. Also served are an average of 1,500 children with 2,500 meals Monday through Friday in the Kids Café program at 23 sites, including 15 in Laredo-Webb County.

The area is one of the poorest in the nation with a poverty rate of 30-plus percent, which is double the state average.

A United States Department of Agriculture report released recently shows that food insecurity among Texas households remained high despite the economic recovery. During 20112013, 18 percent of Texas households (one in six) were found to have experienced hunger or engaged in coping mechanism to avoid it.

Using a United Way Venture Grant, the STFB purchased 10 freezers for its pantries to distribute fresh product to its clients. Pictured are STFB executive director Alfonso Casso and United Way executive director Peggy Duncan, Doug Howland, Romeo Salinas, Erasmo Villarreal, and Galo García.

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Texas was one of just eight states confirmed to have more food insecurity than the nation as whole during this period. In raw numbers, 1.7 million Texas households were food insecure, more than any other state except California.

“What this data tells us is that lowincome Texans continue to stumble on the road to economic recovery, despite the progress made, Celia Cole, CEO of the Texas Food Bank Network, said.

“Clearly, the rising tide is not lifting every boat. The Texas state legislature which reconvenes in January has the opportunity to address food insecurity in partnership with food banks across the state.”

The Texas Food Bank Network, which includes the South Texas Food Bank in Laredo, provides a unified voice among food banks in support of the common mission to alleviate hunger in Texas. STFB chief Casso noted, ‘’Hopefully, this continues to bring awareness of the hunger issue in our own backyard. The STFB serves a high-poverty area. Yes, our unemployment is low at about 6 percent, but hard-working wage earners are challenged to make ends meet and feed their families.

These are the under-employed, making minimum wage or working two jobs. That’s where the STFB steps in as the safety net.”

The needy in each county receives product from the STFB for distribution via 80 pantries throughout the service area, including 40 pantries in Laredo.

Casso said that the pantries’ contribution of shared maintenance is “a good return on the investment.”

Shared maintenance for product is charged by the pound. The average is 15 cents per pound. Pantries also receive an assortment of produce and

other perishable items at no cost.

Casso lists the rural county-bycounty (other than Webb County) total poundage received in 2013 and its equivalency at retail value. A majority of the rural county shared maintenance fee is paid via a grant from county government. The figures include: • Zapata County received 589,111 pounds of food in 2013 which is equivalent to about $985,371 at retail value.

The county’s shared maintenance to offset these benefits was $30,008.

• Dimmit County (Carrizo Springs) received 321,788 pounds, equivalent to about $542,000 at retail value. The county’s contribution to shared maintenance was $13,760.

• Val Verde County (Del Rio) received 1,472,515 (1.471 million) pounds of food in 2013 which is equivalent to about $2,677,834 (2.67 million) at retail value. The county’ shared maintenance was $51,340.

• Jim Hogg County (Hebbronville) received 201,591 pounds of food in2013, equivalent to about $380,538 at retail value. County shared maintenance was $7,575.

• Starr County (Rio Grande CityRoma area) received 1,493,299 (1.493 million) pounds of food, equivalent to about $3,405,341 (3.4 million) at retail value. The county’s contribution to shared maintenance was $185,360.

• Maverick County (Eagle Pass) received 925,561 pounds of food in 2013 which at a retail value of about $3.4 million. The county contributed $38,523 to shared maintenance.

• Kinney County (Brackettville) distributed 58,809 pounds of food in 2013 which is equivalent to about $156,671 at retail value. The county’s contribution to offset these benefits was $4,705. 

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Serving Sentences

By randy koch

Mira, Mira

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

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ven now it seems a strange idea: writing about writing. Or writing about other writers’ writing. Or writing about writing to my students’ about their writing. I’ve even written about my occasional inability to write, and now I’m writing about that. Well, that just takes the cake. And then to do it for a decade or more? I often wondered if that wasn’t the epitome of self-indulgence.

At least until now. Because this time you’re reading a column I’ve written about writing a column about writing. Feel the floor shifting under your feet? Feel like Alice slipping down some dicey rabbit hole?

Or like you’re plummeting through an endless tunnel of reflections of one mirror held up to another?

Welcome to my world.

In August 2001, I began my fifth year of teaching at LCC, and my daughter Mary was a junior at Alexander High School. That’s when Carol Brochin, whom I knew through the South Texas Writing Project and who was taking over Tom Moore’s editing duties at LareDOS, suggested I write a column.

“About what?” I asked her. By then I’d lived in Laredo for only four years and still often felt out of my element — not only when going across to Nuevo Laredo but on the Texas side of the border, too. And while I loved the daily possibility of discovering or suddenly understanding something in Laredo that felt absolutely foreign to a native Minnesotan like me, it was a constant reminder of how much I didn’t know. What exactly could I write about for LareDOS that some wellinformed native Laredoan couldn’t write about better?

Carol looked at me as if it were obvious. “Writing,” she said. “And teaching writing.”

So there it was.

And even though I wondered if I could actually come up with something new, relevant, and worth reading a dozen times a year, I loved the idea of trying, of drafting a new piece every month, of seeing it in print, of finding a few readers. Those are mostly selfish incentives, I know, but incentives nonetheless. Of course, I was also immensely grateful that Carol and Meg thought I had something to offer and considered my monthly contributions worth printing. All of which made me feel that I had a place — no matter how small or self-indulgent — here on the border.

It was the way close friends, students and colleagues, and the parents of several of Mary’s volleyball teammates often made me feel: that I was home in Laredo.

Over the next six years, during which I taught at both LCC and TAMIU, I wrote 66 columns. Those early ones often explained aspects of craft and publishing, included interviews with local writers, and confessed some personal history.

By 2007, Mary had both graduated from Alexander and earned a bachelor’s degree in English, and while she was excited about beginning her career, I had been accepted into the MFA program at the University of Wyoming. Nearly 50, I decided to return to school.

Before leaving town near the end of July, I stopped at 1812 Houston Street, climbed the familiar porch steps, swung the door open, and stepped inside. Two staff writers pecked at keyboards in the large front room with the high ceiling

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and wooden floor. I asked a young woman at a desk if Meg was in. She said she was and tipped her head toward the open door to her office.

I rapped a knuckle against the door frame, and when Meg looked up from several papers spread out before her, I stepped inside. Her desk was littered with the disorder fitting a vibrant newspaper: leaning stacks of documents, a cell phone near her left elbow, several thick official-looking bound manuscripts, a ceramic coffee cup, a sprawledopen copy of LareDOS, pens, and another phone trailing cords to the floor. She sat low behind the desk, steady and focused in the midst of the commotion swirling around her.

I explained that I was moving 1,200 miles north to Laramie, Wyoming, and asked if she still wanted me to write the column even though I was leaving Laredo.

As with Carol’s reply six years earlier, I was and still am grateful for Meg’s generous, unflinching answer: “Yes.” I packed furniture, appliances, clothes, a new laptop, and boxes upon boxes of books and papers into a Ryder truck. I drove for two days, got settled in Wyoming’s high country, and over the next two years wrote 20 columns about working towards an MFA in poetry writing at

UW. When I graduated in 2009 and found a new teaching position at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, I packed up again and this time moved over 1,700 miles due east. In the five years since then, I wrote another 56 columns. Once again, the unfamiliar landscape, changes in my teaching, and the clarity that accompanies distance affected what I wrote about and how I wrote.

Writing for Meg and LareDOS nearly every month for the past 13 years is among the most gratifying things I’ve done. It’s given me the discipline to be a more productive writer and the experience that makes me credible to students. It’s a means for staying in touch with the many teachers, readers, and writers I had the good fortune of becoming fast friends with during my 10 years in Laredo. It’s provided the comfort of knowing that even though Mary is hundreds of miles away in South Texas, she could still find me in these pages if she wanted to.

And over the years it’s confirmed for me again and again the importance of this publication. Like a mirror held up to the border, it showed us our community, our land, and ourselves with a clarity, honesty, and integrity sustained by Meg’s vision for the past 20 years. 

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Maverick Ranch Notes

Trashed by the trash companies

By bebe & sissy fenstermaker

T

hings got out of hand around here while I was out of town. Sissy phoned to say that twice in a row our trash was not picked up, and after phoning the company she learned we live on a ‘dangerous’ road. The company (a nation-wide business) was terrified to try to pick up trash here anymore. They said they had notified us, a non-fact as Sissy kept taking the trash up to the road, and that was it! No word and nobody coming for the trash. Our neighbors were equally in the dark.

Over the next few weeks I had occasion several times to remember how convenient old backyard incinerators were; you just took out the trash and burned it. Yes it was horribly un-environmental, but then you didn’t have to worry about trash trucks endangering themselves on country roads either.

I called the other trash pickup company, set up and paid for oncea-week service with someone who never seemed to reassure me he was getting things written down right.

He told me it took the company 14 days to deliver their required bins and said until then to put our trash bags on the roadside and they would get them on the very next collection day.

Well my uneasy feeling was proven right. Over the next three weeks their happiness was to take our money in exchange for no service at all. We had to haul sixteen trash bags back down the hill. It wore thin fast. Every time I called to report their truck had passed us by again and the month old trash was now a health hazard I got the runaround. When I said that in days

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of old one paid their money and got the service the woman answering the phone said, “Oh I agree with you!” as if there was the definite possibility that one paid their money and didn’t get service. I was talking to folks on another planet. We probably will not be reimbursed for no service; I just feel it in my bones even though they say we will. What got the month and a half old trash finally collected was the company delivered their trash bins and the truck driver could no longer avoid bags lining the side of the road. The company’s name is on the bins.

There is a third trash pickup service, but they roar down this ‘dangerous’ road spewing trash all over from their open back end. One takes their chances and makes their choices with trash companies.

We’ve had some rain in the last week and all the plants, grasses, and trees are happier. The deer are gorgeous now and the turkey boys bring a young turkey hen with them at suppertime. This has been the year of only bull calves and they are all funny boys.

— Bebe Fenstermaker

trouble holding their ground at the feeders.

A pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoo quietly hung around for a few days.

They are also called Rain Crows, one of their calls thought to announce rain. One of my favorite birds, the Scrub Jay, spent the summer with us also. Just a couple of weeks ago seven of them, adults and juveniles, came in to the feeders. What a sight they were, all leaping around from feeder to feeder and then down to the ground to pick up what morsels they found there.

One afternoon Bebe and I had an appointment to leave one of the cats at the veterinary clinic in Sisterdale.

It would be just a simple up and back trip. Ha! I was walking up the path with the cat carrier and there just a few feet away was a Black Vulture sitting near a pan of water. It was a youngster and had an injured leg that needed attention. We managed to drop a sheet over it after much crawling through low branches and the like. The vulture got to ride in the cat carrier while the cat roamed around the car during the trip to the clinic. From there we continued to Kendalia to deliver the bird to Wildlife Rescue.

Just a typical, calm afternoon turned upside down.

— Sissy Fenstermaker

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his summer was one of birding from the front porch. We kept the feeders full to the delight of the birds. The easiest to please were the White-winged Doves, and there were a zillion of them. Several families of Cardinals, though, were feisty enough to muscle in amongst the White-wings.

Painted Buntings were like jewels flitting back and forth from the trees to the feeders. There were at least two pair.

The males were tough and had no

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Adios, LareDOS

All that is left is the hugging

I

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

never imagined when I first walked up the flight of stairs at1812 Houston Street that two years later I’d still be walking those same stairs every morning, or that I’d consider it my second home.

I still recall how nervous I was to meet Meg, given her impeccable reputation among other professionals. It was my senior year at TAMIU, and I needed to complete an internship prior to graduation. I had a few professors mention how LareDOS was their favorite local newspaper because of the content and style of reporting.

After reading several issues I decided this was definitely where I wanted to work.

Full of doubt and insecurity, I was sure that I would not get the internship because I had little to no work experience. To my surprise an hour into the interview and after an exchange of some Arrested Development quips, I got the job.

I was so excited that for my first assignment I accompanied Meg to interview local sculptor Armando Hinojosa, who at the time was working on the Tejano Monument. I was so taken back by how seemingly effortlessly Meg interacted with him and got him to share his vision and passion for his project.

At times the workload seemed impossible to accomplish, and Meg and I would wonder if anyone would even read what we’d write. For every person who never heard of LareDOS there were people who would speak highly of Meg and thanked me for the work we did — that always made the long hours worth it. With a staff of only four, every issue filled us all with a great sense of triumph.

I learned a lot about writing and interviewing people from all walks

of life. I also learned that the experiences, struggles, and endeavors of everyday people make for great stories.

Meg taught me how to dig and find what was worth writing. She always encouraged me to try my hand at new topics and styles of writing. She pushed me to constantly work on my photography skills, which was never my forté.

I am proud to say I worked for the only latina owned newspaper in Laredo, and that I had a fearless publisher who was all about exposing corruption and never shying away from the big issues (from political scandals to environmental concerns).

Had it not been for this job I would have never met a lot of the great people in the community working hard to make a difference. I got to see this city from a different perspective.

I’ve grown a lot in the past few years both personally and professionally. I have to credit my growth to Meg, who has been a tremendous mentor. We didn’t always see eye to eye on certain things but we always found a way to compromise.

The day would eventually come when I would leave the publication, for no other reason than to try my hand at something else. I just never thought that it would coincide with the final print edition of the publication.

I’ve been putting off writing this farewell because I knew once I did that would be it – it would really be done. I lucked out that I’ve had a job for the past two years that never really felt like work. I am sad to say goodbyem mostly because I will miss my co-workers.

This isn’t just a sappy goodbye as Meg gave me permission to just write good or bad about my experience working here, but I honestly can’t complain about anything, except for printer jams. I learned to respect small

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publications because I learned that a lot can be accomplished with few resources as long as you make the effort. I can walk away knowing that the knowledge and experience I acquired at LareDOS will be invaluable to my professional endeavors.

As heartening as it is to walk away from the best job I’ve ever had, I am excited about what will come next. I am also happy that after years of dedicating herself to this labor of love Meg will finally get to enjoy all the little

things in life that bring her so much joy.

Meg is relentless in her pursuits in seeking the truth and keeping the public informed on local politics. I am eager to read any of her future works, because no doubt that her devotion will shine like it has the past 20 years at LareDOS. She is not only a superb writer, but a magnificent friend — when she cares, she cares. I am very fortunate for having worked for someone like her. 

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CIS

Successful CIS plate sale allows for planning

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ommunities In Schools (CIS) coordinators look to develop activities and events to help our students grow and experience positive events in their lives.

These events help bolster a student’s self-esteem and may provide a catalyst of positive change. To plan such events means seeking donations from our community throughout the year or fundraising. Looking to increase our

opportunities to provide motivational incentives and fulfill basic needs of our students, Communities In Schools coordinators Claudia Sanchez and Sandra Villarreal worked together to hold a successful fundraising event.

Our coordinators from J.W. Nixon High School and F. S. Lara Academy coordinated a steak plate sale on August 30 to be ready for the new school year.

They worked together to ask communi-

News

Pink To Do strives to assist more breast cancer survivors

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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he12th Annual Pink To Do Breast Cancer Awareness Walk is set for Saturday, October 4 at the Laredo Community College South campus at 5500 South Zapata Highway.

“Pink To Do is a bridge between you

and persons from all walks of life in our community who need assistance due to the complexities and challenges associated with living with breast cancer during diagnosis, treatment, recuperation, and remission,” said Pink To Do president and founder Elizabeth Benavides.

Last year 1,200 participants showed their support at the annual walk. All proceeds go toward easing the financial

News

Jazz bassist Marcos Varela hosts LCC concert, clinic September 30

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ew York City jazz bassist Marcos Varela will perform in Laredo on Tuesday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. in a free concert at LCC’S Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center.

With a repeat roster of last year’s well-attended concert, Varela will perform with drummer Joe Guerra, LCC jazz band and mariachi director Ruben Vargas, and pianist Jerry Quintero.

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While in Laredo, Varela will also give a free jazz clinic in the Martinez Fine Arts room 101.

A native of Houston who has found career success in New York, Canada, and Europe, Varela began his musical career at 17 at Houston’s acclaimed High School for the Performing & Visual Arts, a school that has fostered the creativity of many in music and art today, including Jason Moran, Robert

ty leaders and businesses to help them in their quest to help their students.

Over 600 tickets were sold. Student volunteers signed up as spokesmen for the program. The atmosphere amongst the individuals cooking, preparing, and interacting with buyers was cheerful.

Radio Station 95.7 advertised the plate sale location, driving traffic to the sale and providing wonderful music to listen to as our coordinators and volunteers toiled in the heat.

Through donations, ticket sales, and plates purchased at the event, the coordinators raised approximately $2,900 after expenses. Their plans for an education field trip, perfect attendance events, writing contests, and other

events will be greatly helped with the money raised through this plate sale.

We wish to extend a special thanks to the following businesses and individuals for their assistance in our endeavor: Butterkrust; Danny’s # 13; Danny’s # 4; HEB # 5; Stripes #9857; Juan Salinas Jr.; Elisa Cortez; South Texas Food Bank; Variety Meats; Gamez Produce; Webb County Sheriff’s Department; Oreilly’s on Calton; Rocha Primary Care; 95.7 “La Raza” Radio Station; Kenneth Smartt; Romeo Rodriguez; JP Oscar Liendo; Esteban Santos ; Mark Escamilla and family; Cortez family; Maria Rodriguez; Chris Macalister; Vanessa García; and José Maldonado Jr. 

burden of survivors in the surrounding areas.

The nonprofit assists survivors pay their mammograms, doctors’ bills, hospital bills, medical tests, office visits, and transportation for medical appointments in Laredo San Antonio, and Houston.

Over the past year, Pink To Do assisted survivors with over $20,000 in daily living expenses, groceries, utility bills, fuel, and medical equipment.

Benavides said, “This year’s theme is put your war paint on in support of the fight of breast cancer survivors.”

Participants can register for the 1.5mile walk or run before 8 a.m. for $20.

Everyone is invited to participate.

Pink To Do will host other events in October. The Third Annual Mass of Hope will be held on October 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Redeemer Church, and the First Annual Lights in the Park candle vigil will be held on October 25 at 8 p.m. at North Central Park.

“The ceremony will include a blessing of the candelarias, placement on a field in a ribbon logo pattern, and a minute of silence while a bell rings every second. Persons may keep their candelarias for All Souls Day,” said Benavides.

For more information, contact Benavides at (956) 319-0384 or email pinktodoassociation@gmail.com. 

Glasper, Beyonce Knowles, Brian-Micheal Cox, Eric Harland, Chris Dave, Matt Mullenweg (wordpress inventor), and many more.

Varela undertook studies on scholarship at the New School University/ Mannes School of Music in NYC, and since completing studies there has become a fixture of the jazz and New World music community as both a performer and a collaborator.

He has performed with a wide variety of world class musicians and music legends such as Billy Hart, Charli Persip, Martha Wainwright, The Last Poets (Umar Bin Hassan), The Mingus Big Band, Jason Moran, Yosvany Terry, Larry John McNally, and many others.

In the realm of popular music Marcos has composed music, taken part in music videos and recorded for The Last Poets- Umar Bin Hassan (Jerome Huling) solo project featuring, Cappadonna of the Wu-Tang Clan, Styles P, Common, Dead Prez, Roy Hargrove and many others. Another project in development of which he is a part is a new Jamaican hip-hop sensation “Rally Bop.” He has recently gotten to work with acclaimed composers Larry John McNally (Rod Stewart, Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staples, Alan Toussaint) and Lee Curreri (Fame).

For information on Varela’s master class or the September 30 performance, please contact Matthew Adams at madams102@gmail.com 

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Feature

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ocal favorite hot spot Caffé Dolce is in the works of opening up a second location on 219 Del Mar. Owners Valeria Vega and Chris Contreras gave LareDOS an inside look into their latest business venture.

“This house is amazing, and our space is perfect,” said Vega, adding, “We were very fortunate that Vivian Frank, whose parents home this use to be, approached us if we were interested in opening up a second location here.

She loved how we transformed our downtown location into a café and other businesses and has helped us out so much.”

Constr uct ion Valeria Vega and and renovations have been underway all summer. With a collective vision of creating a fun and slightly more mature eatery, Vega and Contreras are excited about the endless possibilities.

Contreras said, “We are trying to make it different. The walls here are white unlike our downtown location.

We are going for a different color scheme and feel. We are still going to have local art on display, but we won’t be rotating it monthly like we do downtown.”

“It is going to be a similar concept with some differences in layout. You come in walk to the bar and order and will have the option to dine inside or outside on our wooden terrace, with several tables and umbrellas – perfect for the fall season. There will be some bar stools by one side of the bar, where a lucky few can hang out and talk to us,” he said.

Currently the owners are currently discussing artists who can paint a mural on one of their walls.

She said, “We want it to be iconic.

A lot of people compare Caffé Dolce to Austin joints saying we have that type of vibe. You go and see iconic pieces anywhere you go.

The owners’ want patrons to know that downtown will remain the spot for art shows and live music shows, while the second location will focus more on experimenting with menu items.

“We want to prompt healthier options like more salads. I won’t say we will be the healthiest place in town, but we definitely will be offering a wide selection of healthy items,” she said.

He added, “I feel Chris Contreras like the menu will be the last thing we do. I’m pretty confident that anything we choose will be a success. It will be up to the people what they like and what we keep. I’m pretty adaptable and with our much larger kitchen space it will be conducive for more experimentation of dishes.”

There will be bike racks available for customers. There is also talk of transforming a space out back into a cozy beer garden, with plenty of seating space.

“We are really excited, and can’t wait.

There have been nothing but good vibes surrounding this project from day one,” said Vega.

Opening day will be between mid October or beginning of November.

Caffé Dolce is located at 1708 Victoria Street and is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

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Star Wars favorite at STCE Lydia Rodriguez is pictured with Star War’s R2D2 on Saturday, September 13 at the Laredo Energy Arena. R2D2 was among several fan favorites at the South Texas Collectors Expo.

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By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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Caffé Dolce to open Northside location

Tennis tournament participants Delia Salazar, Sonia Jimenez, Cindy Robledo, and Toni Cantu competed in the 3rd Annual Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championships tournament on Saturday, September 6 at the Laredo Country Club.

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Review

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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Celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications ballet folklorico students Angelica Sanchez, Kassandra Gamez, Abel Hernandez, Kassandra Vargas, Jennifer Castro, and Carolina Gonzalez performed at St. Peter’s Plaza on Tuesday, September 16.

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hile the shaky cam motif — first introduced with Paranormal Activity — is played out, As Above, So Below was surprisingly great.

The storyline follows archeologist Scarlett (Perdita Weeks), determined to complete her father’s quest and clear his name, as she rallies a group to venture through the catacombs beneath the streets of Paris in search of an artifact known as the Philosopher’s Stone.

A rarity in the archaeology sphere, Scarlett’s intelligence comes in handy during tense moments. She is currently my favorite character in a horror genre film. She is smart, brave, adventurous, and tenacious —what I imagine the child of Lara Croft and Indian Jones would be.

Written by John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle (Quarantine, Devil), the flick initially appears to be a typical horror film but soon reveals it is much more with its intelligent script filled with tidbits on history and alchemy.

The psychological thriller — while initially on the surface relies too much on stereotypes — reaches deep into the human psyche to reveal the character’s personal demons along

with the sinister secrets that lie in the subterranean city of bones.

The found footage technique is utilized it in a way that doesn’t distract from the story but enhances it. Much of the suspense in the film is built around the increasing sense of claustrophobia as the group travels deeper, and it is becomes apparent that reality has somehow been altered.

By the third act, all logic seizes to exist as straight paths lead the group in circles, objects unexplicably appear, and the characters have sightings of the dead. The buildup, while slow, effectively builds upon each of the dreadful unexplained events.

“We should just keep moving forward,” Scarlett says repeatedly.

While it appears to the audience that Scarlett’s relentless quest to find the relic is a selfish move, it becomes apparent the group has no choice as their troubles worsen. One by one the group begins to die off and it is revealed that in order to get out of the catacombs they must go through hell, literally.

In the end, the film is untimely about redemption. Each of the survivors is forced to come to terms with an event from their past that haunts them, and in doing so, are allowed to make amends, rendering their salvation. 

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As Above So Below, an eerie tour of Paris’ catacombs

Good company, good food Father Toby Guerrero of St. Peter’s Parish and Goyo López, PIO for the Diocese of Laredo, enjoyed a quiet lunch at Caffé Dolce.

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Election 2014

Flores-Oliveros in the run For UISD trustee District 3

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

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liza Flores-Oliveros, executive director of the Webb County Head Start and Early Head Start programs, has announced her intent to run for UISD Trustee District 3. She will face Alfredo Espinoza Jr. in the November 4 election.

As Head Start director for the past 13 years, Flores-Oliveros oversees a $12 million budget, about 300 employees, and the daily welfare of about 1,300 toddlers and infants. As chief administrator, she oversees the program’s staff, curriculum and instruction, parent involvement, program governance, social services, mental health and disability services, nutrition services, transportation, fiscal oversight, grant writing, grant compliance, and partnerships with UISD and LISD. Flores-Oliveros, a graduate of Texas A & M University in College Station with a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical science, also earned a Master of Arts in counseling psychology. She is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker.

She said that among the skills she is

offering for the position of UISD trustee is her ability to work with budgets and to understand the fiscal aspects of managing large amounts of funding. In addition to being familiar with policy writing and grant writing, she said her strong suit of leadership abilities includes leadership by example and empowering co-workers with information so that they become good decision makers.

Flores-Oliveros said she will be a proactive board member who will encourage other board members to help set policy and allow staff, teachers, and the community to have a role in which direction the school district moves.

“This is a progressive board, and this is an opportune time for me to serve on the board. I want to be part of the district’s progress as it works to enhance security on all campuses and as it makes great leaps in curriculum to help students with disabilities. I have the experience to be part of all of these decisions, and I want to be a voice for all the employees of this district,” she said.

Flores-Oliveros is married to Victor M. Oliveros Jr. and they have three children — Alejandra, Victor III, and Nicholas. 

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Lemonade enterprise funds D.C. travel

Suicide Prevention

Emily Altgelt and her mother Rosa Elia are pictured one recent Saturday at Emily’s lemonade enterprise. The Nye Elementary fifth grader is raising funds for a school trip to Washington, D.C. in June 2015.

Families gathered with remembrance photos of loved ones at North Central Park on Wednesday, September 10 for PILLAR’s 4th Annual Suicide Prevention Candlelight Vigil.

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