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CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY PRIORITIES
Children living in poverty Valley counties fill top 10, with 46% of Zapata kids considered poor By ALDO AMATO THE ZAPATA TIMES
Nearly half of the children in Webb and Zapata counties are living in poverty according to statistics released Tuesday by the Center for Public Policy Priorities. From 2000 to 2011, the number of children living in poverty in Webb County increased by more than 45 percent, with an estimated 38,893 total children in poverty. The rate in 2011 was 17 percentage points higher than the child poverty rate for the entire state.
South Texas counties made up a majority of the top 10 counties with the highest poverty rate. Brooks County had the highest rate in the state with 48 percent, followed by Hidalgo County at 47 percent while over 46 percent of children in Zapata County live in poverty. Zapata County Commissioner Jose Vela said the county is doing everything it can to help the more than 2,000 children living in poverty in Zapata County. “The statistics are surprising, and I did not think we were that
high,” Vela said. “But most of these kids should be receiving some type of assistance whether it is free lunch or after-school programs. Each day we’re trying to stop poverty in the community.” Zapata County has the sixth highest child poverty rate in the state. Vela said the school districts play a vital role in the fight against poverty. “As we move towards the future, we need to place a focus on education,” he said. “I think the more kids who graduate will help shrink the high statistics.”
Beatriz Saldaña, executive director for the Bethany House in Laredo, said 14 children occupy eight family dorms at the shelter. She said the shelter continues to provide several programs to help curb child poverty. “The number of kids we see varies from month to month because we provide transitional housing,” Saldaña said. “But we always provide education and life skills programs each week for the children who are here.” Saldana said Bethany House distributed four boxes of chil-
dren’s jackets that were donated by Burlington Coat Factory over the Thanksgiving holiday. The shelter also works closely with the South Texas Food Bank and their Kids Café program. The program provides free meals and snacks to low-income children during after-school hours. The Webb County Indigent Health Care Program has also seen a slight increase in the number of clients in need of assistance. Executive Director Nancy
See POVERTY PAGE 9A
TEXAS WEATHER
DPS
COLD PARALYZES STATE
No more roadblocks Agency: They were successful By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Hugo Pedroza, a light equipment operator with the City of Richardson, helps clear away limbs from an ice-covered tree that fell across a neighborhood intersection on Friday, in Richardson. An ice storm in North Texas has knocked out power to more than a quarter of a million homes and businesses.
Icy storm slams Southwest, shuts down N. Texas By NOMAAN MERCHANT ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Freezing rain and stinging winds slammed the Southwest Friday and made a strangely blank landscape out of normally sun-drenched North Texas: mostly empty highways covered in a sometimes impassable frost, closed schools and businesses, and millions of residents hunkered down for icy conditions expected to last through the weekend. Earlier this week, many in Texas
were basking in spring-like temperatures that hit the 80s. But by Thursday, Texas was facing the same wintry blast that has slammed much of the U.S., bringing frigid temperatures, ice and snow. The weather forced the cancellation of Sunday’s Dallas Marathon, which was expected to draw 25,000 runners, some of whom had trained for months. A quarter of a million customers in North Texas were left without power, and many businesses told employees to stay home to avoid the slick roads.
Rob Yates, 44, of the Dallas suburb of Rowlett, had trained for four months to participate in the half-marathon Sunday — his first time competing at that distance. His wife and three children were going to attend the race to volunteer and cheer him on, he said. Now, “I’ll probably be catching up on some work,” Yates said, laughing. Yates spent Friday at home with his children, who were outside pulling off icicles and wishing more snow had fall-
See WEATHER
PAGE 9A
AUSTIN — Traffic checkpoints along the Texas border that critics say were state-operated immigration traps won’t be deployed again without lawmaker support, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said Wednesday. McCraw, however, defended the effectiveness of a three-week roadblock operation in the Rio Grande Valley in September and October, saying the $3.4 million effort heightened safety. He disputed allegations that it was a ruse to catch or intimidate immigrants who are in the country without legal documentation. Calling the roadblocks a “tactically brilliant technique but strategically flawed,” McCraw spoke in the Texas Capitol after Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced efforts to reallocate $60 million in the state budget for a new border security surge. Exactly how that money will be spent hasn’t yet been revealed, but McCraw said it won’t include checkpoints. He remarked on some critics’ “histrionics” and acknowledged public opposition as the reason the roadblocks ended. “They certainly were effective and efficient,” McCraw said. “But again, just because it’s effective and efficient in terms of getting compliance with insurance and driver’s license, if it undermines the mission to protect Texans, it’s not worth doing.” The checkpoints were the first in Texas in two decades. DPS has cited roadway safety as a main reason why troopers randomly stopped motorists, mostly in Hidalgo and Cameron. Carlos M. Garcia, an immigration attorney in McAllen, said he walked into a Head Start class near a roadblock one day and was told that 30 percent of students hadn’t been taken to class by their parents. “These were very targeted operations in certain areas of our community where low-income immigrant people live,” Gar-
See VALLEY PAGE 9A
LAREDO POLICE
Zapata Co. residents accused of shoplifting By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — Two Zapata County residents were allegedly busted for shoplifting at Mall del Norte in Laredo on Wednesday, a Laredo police report states. Edlin Bolaños, 21, who re-
sides in the 300 block of Third Street in Zapata, and Rubina Lyvon Solis, 21, who reBOLAÑOS sides in the 100 block of Valle Verde Road in San Yg-
nacio, were arrested and charged with misdemeanor theft at about 5 p.m. at J.C. Penney, 5301 SOLIS San Dario Avenue. Both Bolaños and Solis
were transported to the Webb County Jail. Both women later posted bail that same day. If convicted for the Class B misdemeanor, they face a maximum punishment of 180 days in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. On Wednesday afternoon, police officers responded to
J.C. Penney where they met loss prevention officers who had detained two women later identified as Bolaños and Solis. Investigator Joe E. Baeza, Laredo Police Department spokesman, said both women were allegedly seen concealing merchandise on
themselves. Store representatives provided a DVD of the offense caught on surveillance video. Baeza said the women stole a blouse, earrings and dresses with a total value of $190. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)